Andy Murray said yesterday that Andre Agassi’s shocking revelations — serialised in The Times — do not mean that tennis has a drugs problem.

In his forthcoming autobiography, Open: An Autobiography, the former world No 1 reveals that he took crystal meth and failed a drugs test in 1997 before lying about how it got into his body to avoid a ban. Murray, who will play for the first time since his Davis Cup efforts in September in the Valencia Open tomorrow against Daniel Gimeno-Traver, of Spain, joined Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in expressing his shock, but said that he does not believe drugs to be endemic in tennis. “I didn’t play in those times [when Agassi failed a test], so I don’t know what it was like,” the Scot said.

“There’s even cases now where guys get off, with failed tests and contaminations, or mistakes with the Richard Gasquet case. [Gasquet tested positive for cocaine, but an independent tribunal reduced the ban because it accepted his explanation that the cocaine had entered his system through a kiss with a waitress.] Sometimes, things like that happen, and people get away with it sometimes, but I just don’t think drugs in tennis is a big problem, like it is in other sports.”

In further extracts from Agassi’s book yesterday, it was revealed that the American believes he was fed “speed” by his father before some matches early in his career, thinking the “tiny, white, round” tablets to be caffeine.

Murray, the world No 4 who grew up idolising Agassi, said that he would remember him for his exploits on the court. “I loved Andre, met him numerous times and he was unbelievably nice to me,” he said. “I guess it’s something he has to deal with himself, he’s entitled to say whatever he wants and I wish him the best. I don’t think any of the players expected it, but you’ve just got to move on. I judge him as a tennis player. He was a great player, one of the best of all time. No one wants drugs in sport, but everyone makes mistakes.”