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Melbourne, January 18
As world tennis was rocked by allegations that the game’s authorities have failed to deal with widespread match-fixing just as the Australian Open kicked off on Monday, world number 1 Novak Djokovic said a member of his staff was approached about fixing a match early in his career. He also questioned whether betting companies should be allowed to sponsor big tennis tournaments.
In 2007, Djokovic said, an approach had been made offering him $200,000 to throw a match at the St Petersburg Open in Russia, a tournament he did not ultimately play in.
Djokovic said as far as he was aware there was no longer a problem with what he described as a “crime in sport” at the top level of tennis, but added that he had once been approached indirectly to throw a match.
“I was not approached directly, I was approached through people that were with my team,” he said, after cruising through his opening match at the tournament against South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon on Monday.
“The guy that was trying to talk to me, he didn’t even get to me directly. There was nothing out of it.
“Unfortunately, there were some, in those times, those days, rumours, some talk, some people were going around. They were dealt with. In the last six, seven years, I haven’t heard anything similar.”
The 28-year-old Serb said although he was confident there was no longer a problem at the top level, he could not speak for further down the tennis rankings.
Tennis authorities, however, rejected reports by the BBC and online BuzzFeed News, which said 16 players ranked in the top 50 had been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions they had thrown matches in the past decade.
The reports said the TIU, set up to police illegal activities in the sport, either failed to act upon information that identified suspicious behaviour amongst players, or impose any sanctions.
All of the players, including winners of Grand Slam titles, were allowed to continue competing, while eight were playing in the Australian Open, the media reports added.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the findings by the BBC and BuzzFeed News, which said they had obtained documents that included the findings of an investigation set up in 2007 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the governing body of men’s professional tennis.
“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,” said ATP chairman Chris Kermode.
“And while the BBC and BuzzFeed reports mainly refer to events from about 10 years ago, we will investigate any new information, and we always do,” Kermode told a hastily arranged media conference at Melbourne Park.
The BBC and BuzzFeed News said they had not named any players because without access to their phone, bank and computer records it was not possible to determine whether they took part in match-fixing.
They said the 2007 ATP inquiry found betting syndicates in Russia, northern Italy and Sicily making hundreds of thousands of pounds betting on games which investigators thought to be fixed.
Three of these games were at Wimbledon.
In a confidential report for tennis authorities in 2008, the inquiry team said 28 players involved in those games should be investigated but the findings were never followed up, the news organisations said.
Tennis authorities introduced a new anti-corruption code in 2009 but after taking legal advice were told previous corruption offences could not be pursued, they added.
Djokovic questions betting sponsors
Djokovic was also asked about the propriety of betting companies being sponsors of major tennis tournaments, even if there had never been allegations that such companies were involved in any wrongdoing.
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 showcourts at Melbourne Park for the first time.
Critics, who say the relationship sends out the wrong message, have called on Tennis Australia to end it, and Djokovic said there should at least be a debate.
“Well, this is a subject for discussion, I think, today and in the future. It’s a fine line. Honestly it’s on a borderline, I would say,” he said.
“Whether you want to have betting companies involved in the big tournaments in our sport or not, it’s hard to say what’s right and what’s wrong.
“One of the reasons why tennis is a popular and clean sport is because it has always valued its integrity,” he added.
William Hill defended its association with Tennis Australia.
“Close partnerships between regulated and licensed betting operators like William Hill and sporting bodies are part of the solution to integrity issues, not part of the problem,” said group director of security, Bill South, in a statement.
“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.
Tennis Australia did not have an immediate comment to make.
