Bogota, January 15: Men's doubles world No.1 Robert Farah has withdrawn from the upcoming Australian Open after failing a dope test.

"The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme can confirm that Robert Farah provided an Out-of-Competition sample on October 17, 2019, which returned a positive finding for Boldenone," a tweet from the media account of International Tennis Federation (ITF) read.

"This case will follow the procedures set out in Article 8 of the TADP," ITF added.

Following which, the 32-year-old Canadian wrote on Twitter: "I will not be able to play at the Australian Open, an event for which I had been preparing since December."

"I am calm and confident in the results of this process since I have always acted correctly and honestly in my life. I will work harder than ever to return to the courts in the shortest time possible."

"I'm going through one of the saddest moments of my life and, without a doubt, the saddest of my sporting career.

"With my team and a group of advisers we're looking into the steps to take in a process in which we hope to show that I've never used any products that violate fair play and ethics."

The Australian Open starts in Melbourne on Monday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 15, 2020 10:28 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).