ITF seek longer Gasquet ban after positive drug test

The International Tennis Federation have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to increase the severity of the ban handed out to Richard Gasquet after he tested positive for cocaine.

An independent anti-doping tribunal last month gave the Frenchman a two-and-a-half month ban after ruling he inadvertently ingested the drug by kissing a woman in a Miami nightclub.

The ITF had been seeking a two-year ban under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Agency's code.

"The ITF can confirm that, jointly with WADA, it has appealed to CAS the decision of the independent tribunal in the case of Richard Gasquet," the ITF said in a statement.

CAS later confirmed they had received the ITF's appeal and expect a decision to be announced within four months.

Gasquet was provisionally suspended in May and missed the French Open and Wimbledon as a result.