Novak Djokovic denied an Italian media report he deliberately lost a match in 2007 that has been linked to a wider scandal involving alleged corruption in tennis.
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When asked about the claims about the Santoro match in Tuttosport after his Australian Open second-round victory over French qualifier Quentin Halys, Djokovic said: “What it is to say?”
The report comes just days after BuzzFeed and the BBC reported that 16 players were suspected of intentionally throwing matches on behalf of gambling syndicates in Russia, Sicily and northern Italy since the creation of the Tennis Integrity Unit, founded in 2008 to police the sport. I’m just glad that I still didn’t get any in this press conference because I have nothing more to say there.
Djokovic, then ranked world No.3, lost the match 6-3 6-2 to French journeyman Fabrice Santoro after enduring surgery to remove his wisdom teeth.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic managed to shake off a late challenge during his second-round match at the Australian Open, while women’s sixth seed Petra Kvitova was spectacularly upset in straight sets on Wednesday.
“What it is to say?”
Roger Federer was sceptical on Monday about the possibility of elite players fixing matches but when Murray was asked if he would be surprised, the Scot said: “No, not really”. That’s my point. There hasn’t been too many matches where top players lost in last decade or so in early rounds.
And speaking afterwards, Djokovic lamented certain aspects of his game on Margaret Court Arena, a rare match away from Rod Laver Arena.
“But, you know, it is what it is and we expected it. When we heard the story would come out, we all expected questions from you guys”.
“I think it’s 40 years on the tennis tour that doesn’t excite me, you know?”
The European Sports Security Association declared that tennis was the sport most at risk from betting manipulation, both because of the ease with which one can lose a match, and the sheer extent of betting options that leading bookmakers offer. “He’s a powerful player, big forehand”. If you have any other questions on any other subject, I’m ready to talk about this.
Chris Kermode, heads of the Association of Tennis Professionals, rejected claims evidence of match-fixing had “been suppressed for any reason or isn’t being thoroughly investigated”.
“It’s the least I expect to be in the third round of a Slam, so I’m pumped up, playing well, feeling good”, Federer said.
But it wasn’t an entirely convincing display from the four-time Australian Open victor who committed an uncharacteristic 55 unforced efforts, much more than Dimitrov’s 44. “Like a year ago the third round was the end for me, so I hope to go further this time”.
“I couldn’t give my 100 per cent, not even 30 per cent of my possibilities”, Djokovic said after the Santoro match.
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He next plays the Italian Andreas Seppi, who won 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 against the American Denis Kudla. “I think throwing my name out there with it makes the whole thing an absolute farce”.
