Tennis match-fixing scandal: Novak Djokovic angry to be offered money in 2007

World No1 speaks out about 'crime in sport'
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Paul Newman18 January 2016

Novak Djokovic said today he felt “terrible” when he was offered money to fix a match in 2007, as tennis chiefs were forced to defend themselves amid allegations of “widespread” match-fixing in the sport.

The opening day of the Australian Open was overshadowed by allegations that a group of 16 players, all of whom have been ranked in the world’s top 50, have repeatedly been brought to the attention of tennis’ governing bodies over suspicions they have fixed matches.

The investigation by BBC and BuzzFeed claims none of the players, who allegedly include Grand Slam champions, have faced sanctions and that three matches under suspicion were at Wimbledon.

After his first-round victory in Melbourne today, Djokovic confirmed a report from nine years ago which said he had been offered $200,000 (£140,000) to throw a match in St Petersburg.

“I was not approached directly,” Djokovic said. “I was approached through people that were working with me at that time, that were with my team. Of course, we threw it away right away. The guy that was trying to talk to me, he didn’t even get to me directly

“It made me feel terrible because I don’t want to be in any way linked to this — somebody may call it an opportunity. For me, it’s an act of bad sportsmanship, a crime in sport honestly.”

Djokovic, however, insists he is not aware of any match-fixing at the elite of the sport.

“From my knowledge and information about match-fixing or anything similar, there is nothing happening on the top level, as far as I know,” said the Serb, who beat South Korea’s 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 today. “At Challenger level, those tournaments, maybe, maybe not.”

The Tennis Integrity Unit, which is funded by the governing bodies, has been investigating corruption since 2008 and has imposed sanctions on 16 people, with five players and one official banned for life. However, nearly all those who have been disciplined have been lower-ranked players.

The investigation by BuzzFeed and BBC claims that more than half of the players under suspicion were playing in the Australian Open.

BuzzFeed said it could not name them because it was impossible to prove match-fixing without access to phone, bank and computer records.

The investigation is based on leaked documents from inside the sport, an analysis of betting patterns surrounding 26,000 matches and interviews with players, officials and match-fixing experts. It concludes that gambling syndicates based in Russia and Italy have made hundreds of thousands of pounds placing bets on matches at tournaments around the world, including Wimbledon and the French Open.

In particular the investigation said that 28 players who were identified in 2008 as suspected match-fixers were never sanctioned because a new integrity code that was introduced could not be applied retrospectively.

Chris Kermode, the executive chairman and president of the Association of Tennis Professionals, said the sport’s governing bodies were “constantly vigilant and not complacent”.

Kermode pointed out that the TIU “has to find evidence as opposed to information, suspicion or hearsay”.

He said: “The Tennis Integrity Unit and the tennis authorities absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match-fixing has been suppressed for any reason or isn’t being thoroughly investigated.

“All of us here in tennis are absolutely committed to stamp out any form of corrupt conduct in our sport. There is a zero tolerance policy on this.”

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale urged chiefs not to seek to “sweep the claims under the carpet”.

Mr Whittingdale told BBC radio: ““I would hope that Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association will actually call upon on the International Tennis Federation to carry out an investigation very quickly and to clear up this matter.

“This taints the whole of the game and obviously the people who suffer most are both the fans who rely upon the integrity of the sport and that it be conducted fairly and also the other competitors.”

When approached for comment by Standard Sport this morning the All England Lawn Tennis Club, who organise Wimbledon, and the LTA both referred the paper to the statement put out by the four governing bodies of tennis — the ATP, WTA, Grand Slam Board and ITF.

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