Djokovic was at the centre of the match-fixing controversy reported earlier this week by the BBC and BuzzFeed.
Advertisement
No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic was put on the spot Wednesday during an Australian Open postmatch news conference, where a reporter told him an Italian newspaper had just reported that he “wanted to lose” a match in Paris in 2007.
World number one Novak Djokovic has strenuously denied any connection to match-fixing.
Federer though was sceptical about the possibility of previous Grand Slam winners players fixing matches but when Murray was asked if he would be surprised he said: “No, not really”. “You know, until somebody comes out with the real proof and evidence, it’s only speculation for me”.
Meanwhile, around the world, players, commentators and fans echoed the call of Roger Federer, who wants to know names of those suspected.
It’s the third day at the Australian Open and the issue of match fixing overshadowing the season’s first grand slam shows no sign of going away.
Italian newspaper Tuttosport featured allegations osurrounding Djokovic’s match against France’s Fabrice Santoro at the Paris Masters in 2007, that the Serbian described as “absurd” and “not true”.
Djokovic is bidding to win a sixth title this year in Melbourne and he improved his chances on Friday by beating Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-1 7-5 7-6 (8/6) to reach the fourth round.
It leaves Groth, the 28-year-old who boasts the fastest serve on the planet, bidding to become the first Australian to beat Murray in a tour match since August 2005, when the Scot, still sporting his frazzled, curly hair and a spindly frame, lost to world number 284 Paul Baccanello in Vancouver.
“It’s just absurd. You can pick any match that you like that the top player lost and just create a story out of it”. ‘I might be just cheering for that one’.
“As a player you just want to be made aware of everything that’s going on”.
The fresh report and a BBC radio program that aired Tuesday in the United Kingdom came in the wake of the original one Monday which said grand slam winners in both singles and doubles were among those reported to authorities for losing games when “suspicious” bets were placed against them.
The Tennis Integrity Unit was set up in 2008 to tackle corruption within the sport but the organisation’s director Nigel Willerton refused to confirm whether players competing at the Australian Open are now under investigation.
Santoro, a career tennis journeyman who was then ranked No. 39 in the world, beat the then-No. I think that certain media is just trying to create a story out of it without any proofs. He said he played at about 30 percent, adding, “I’m still on medications”.
According to the reports, the ATP investigation widened to uncover a network of other players suspected of match-fixing, but officials didn’t follow up on the cases.
Advertisement
“I think it’s a joke to deal with it. You know, obviously, yeah, there’s no possible way”, said Hewitt, after exiting in the second round. I love it every time I come here..
