Djokovic said he didn’t think match fixing was pervasive at elite levels of the sport, but it is a problem in tennis’ lower levels, where athletes battle to pay for travel and training expenses in addition to their own bills. I haven’t heard anything similar.
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I don’t think the shadow is cast over our sport.
William Hill became the first “official wagering partner” of the Australian Open last year, and this year advertisements for the British bookmaker adorned the three main show courts at Melbourne Park for the first time.
“We have comprehensive information sharing agreements to inform the sport’s integrity bodies and for the sport to promote licensed operators is key to ensuring transparency”, he added. Since then, the reports said, the ATP has repeatedly been warned about numerous same players, but hasn’t taken any action against them. Wanting to know just who was involved.
The report – based on information from a “cache of leaked documents” from a 2008 probe commissioned by tennis authorities, the statistical analysis of 26,000 tennis matches and betting information from 2009 through 2015 – alleges that some players were paid to throw matches and that tennis officials did not act on the findings. “While prize money is quite high, it is possible that you can make more money from betting on yourself to lose in the first round of a tournament than you could if you played really long and hard and actually got through and won the entire tournament”.
“You know, I know that there is also many betting companies that on the websites are using the names, the brands, images of tournaments and players and matches in order to profit from that”, Djokovic said, reports Tennis.
16 players who have ranked in the world’s top 50 at some stage have been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions they have thrown matches.
“We have, I think, a sport (that has) evolved and upgraded our programs and authorities to deal with these particular cases”, top-ranked Novak Djokovic said.
The Serbian, a 10-time Grand Slam victor, had claimed that his team had been approached ahead of the competition in the Russian city, which he eventually did not participate in. “I was able to stay in it and stay calm and that is what matters most”.
“Of course, there were some long rallies, long exchanges that got both of us a little bit short on air. Honestly it’s on a borderline, I would say”, he said. I think when people come with those sums of money when you’re that age, I think sometimes people can make mistakes.
The tennis authorities, comprised most notably of the men’s ATP Tour, women’s WTA Tour and the worldwide ITF, “absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match fixing has been suppressed for any reason”, it said in a statement released in Melbourne, site of the Australian Open. He said active players are not involved. It didn’t even get to me, the guy that was trying to talk to me, he didn’t even get to me directly. Was it the support team?
“I mean, to me the sport itself has always meant a lot more than money”.
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When that happens, the players just have to do the right thing, said doubles No. 1 Marcelo Melo. Certain sporadic matches have been under the scanner in the past and one or two players have been asked a few questions, but, that has been a ripple which now threatens to swell into a wave.
