MELBOURNE A young Spanish baseliner beaten by Petr Korda on Tuesday refused to shake the hand of the Australian Open champion and virtually accused him of cheating. Galo Blanco lost to the Czech in a thrilling five-set first-round tie but said afterwards Korda had faked an ankle injury so he could have a few minutes rest. I felt I couldn't trust Korda so I didn't want to shake his hand, Blanco said.

The rare snub came after protests by leading players at the lenient treatment Korda received after testing positive for a steroid at Wimbledon last year. Korda escaped the usual one-year ban for steroid use. Blanco said the snub had nothing to do with the doping allegations. If someone calls in the trainer (for treatment) and then runs around like he did it's almost impossible to do that, he said through an interpreter.

After twisting his ankle in the third set, with the score at one set apiece, Korda fought on for a 6-3 6-7 6-4 6-7 6-2 victory. Korda, who is unseeded for this year's tournament and had to open his defense on an outside showcourt, was shocked by Blanco's refusal to shake hands and could not explain why it happened. I have no idea.

I was waiting. It never happened to me before, he said. Korda hurt the same ankle at Wimbledon, over-stretching his Achilles' tendon. (Reuter)