'Angry and disappointed': Former tennis star Jennifer Capriati blasts Sharapova after doping admission

Los Angeles: Former tennis star Jennifer Capriati is unhappy after current champion Maria Sharapova admitted to failing a drug test. On her Twitter account Monday, Capriati said she was “extremely angry and disappointed” in Sharapova, who acknowledged testing positive for a recently banned drug. Sharapova claims she had been taking meldonium for 10 years. [caption id=“attachment_2662780” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Maria Sharapova. AP[/caption] “I had to lose my career and never opted to cheat no matter what,” Capriati wrote. “I had to throw in the towel and suffer.” “I didn’t have the high priced team of drs (sic) that found a way for me to cheat and get around the system and wait for science to catch up,” Capriati added. The 39-year-old Capriati won three major titles and an Olympic gold medal after starting her pro career as a 13-year-old prodigy. She reached the Top 10 when she was 14, becoming the youngest player to do so. A back injury plagued the American’s final professional season in 2004, and Capriati has said she was forced to retire earlier than she had hoped. Capriati was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012. Capriati made her Twitter comments as part of a longer rant about purity and cheating in tennis and life. “How does being passionate and protective of your sport in a way make you a hater?” Capriati asked. AP