ATP could have acted much sooner
OnThePunt.com Editor
Wednesday 7th November, 2007

Well hasn't the sh*t hit the fan over the last few weeks. Most readers of OnThePunt.com would have known about the match-fixing issue in tennis for several years now. But it was only going to really hit the headlines when the media finally understood the magnitude of the problem.

The fact that its all coming out in dribs and drabs - the latest being a report on German TV with claims from an unidentified pro saying that bets were being organised "openly" in the players' lounge - is only further damaging the image of professional tennis.

The issue now has a week to simmer along but it will certainly be interesting to see how Mr Davydekno plays out the season at next week's Masters Cup.

Davydenko mentally shot

It goes without saying that its been a turbulent few months for the Russian, ever since that fateful August afternoon in Sopot.

He almost used the incident to his advantage in the weeks after. Having convinced himself that he was innocent, he appeared to use a "me against them mentality" as he powered to a US Open semi-final.

But then it all came crashing down in St Petersburg. In what looked to be an attempt by the ATP to keep the Russian "on his toes" if you like, the warning and subsequent fining for lack of effort has had a massive mental affect on his on-court performance.

His match against Baghdatis in Paris was an embarrassment for the ATP. How chair umpire Cedric Mourier still has his job after trying to tell Davydenko how to serve is beyond me.

What is clear however, is that Davydenko is playing with a massive weight on his shoulders and is not able to mentally focus on the court. I'd be very surprised if he goes close to winning a match in Shanghai.

Keen to keep it "under wraps"

As late as yesterday, the ITF's Bill Babcock is still refusing to understand the extent of the problem. It's a familiar sound coming from tennis authorities. My meeting with then ATP executive vice-president of rules and competition, Richard Ings, back in 2004 might have resulted in an "anti-corruption code" being formulated, but they could have done so much more to stop the illness before it became such a disease.

OnThePunt spoke to one bookmaker who after being fed-up with the level of match-fixing, actually phoned the ATP when a match with a suspect betting pattern was taking place. And he did this BEFORE the matches were played. How many times was this done? Try 50 times.

The bookie said that after calling up around 50 times, he gave up. He was told that "nothing was ever going to happen and that the ATP were keen to keep this under raps".

Why didn't the ATP do something about it? Were they under resourced? Was it a lack of knowledge? Or did they truly believe that the issue was never going to be a problem. Whatever the case, the tennis authorities knew about match-fixing allegations years ago. And they choose not to act. This whole damaging mess could have been avoided. And what's worse, they are not coming clean and admitting about the extent to which they knew about it.

The List

Finally, lets get a few facts right about "the list". This bookmaker-authored listing and notation of matches with suspect betting patterns appears to have made it to the inbox of most tennis journalists by now. And as usual, their lack of betting knowledge leads to a number of inaccuracies being reported.

Firstly, it's important to understand that the majority of the 140+ matches are NOT fixes per say. Many involve suspicious betting patterns associated with injury-related news or other factors such as player motivation levels.

But there is a fine line with some of the matches. For example,  sometimes players might turn up to a small tournament to accept an appearance fee only to record an upset loss with a view to having some rest ahead of say a Masters Series or Slam. This is a common occurrence and some people are always "in the know" as to what might happen.

Of the matches that can be considered to be blatant fixes (about 20-30 in my opinion) over the past five years, the overwhelming majority take place at smaller ATP tournaments (International Series) in the first or second rounds. But that's not to say there have not been incidents at the Slams.

So its onto Shanghai for the season-ending Cup. Here's hoping that the ITF, ATP and WTA can all get their head around the issue before the new season rolls along in January.
 

The tennis match-fixing issue has exploded this week in an eruption of proportions not seen since Mount Vesuvius blew it's top. We have the straight talking Andy Murray to thank for that.

'Muzza' was spot-on with his comments earlier in the week. He was certainly brave to raise this issue in Moscow of all places. The British number one has since been forced to back track on his claims, but of course all the players are aware of what is going on.

Top players such as Federer and Nadal are towing the ATP line but they are either blind to what is happening or feverishly trying to protect the beleaguered image of the sport from which they make their millions.

It's worth noting that a strange thing has happened over the past few months in the world of tennis betting. Ever since that fateful early August day in the Polish tourist town of Sopot, there has not to my knowledge been a single match that has raised a serious concern.

In the months prior to Sopot, hardly a week went by without a massive betting plunge or a match involving highly suspicious betting activity taking place. Perhaps the fixers will try to come back - the the desire for or pursuit of money (a.k.a. greed) might see to that - but it was probably wise for those involved in the fixing of ATP tennis matches to head for the hills for the time being.

In a way, I feel for the tennis administrators. Most of them have very little knowledge of the betting industry and how their sport can be tarnished. Proof of wrongdoing on behalf of individual tennis players is very difficult to obtain. But in another way, I cant help but think that the ATP and ITF are getting just what they deserve.

Its not like the issue has just surfaced. Strong suspicions of match fixing and betting irregularities have been around for at least five years. Administrators have had their heads in the sand for far too long. Its as simple as that. The issue was just swept under the carpet without acknowledging just what a serious threat it was.

A detailed "dossier" of suspect matches - those involving highly suspicious betting activity and results - has been compiled with the assistance of numerous bookmakers. A condensed version of this list was recently published with the assistance of OnThePunt at tennis.com. The result in all but one of the more than one-hundred matches listed ended up going with what the money suggested.

One bookmaker is believed to have supplied this list to the ATP more than a year ago. Why then does ATP spokesman Kris Dent say in the LA Times that it was only received on Thursday?

Four or five years ago, I was invited to an informal meeting with then ATP executive vice-president of rules and competition, Richard Ings (he now works for the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority). As we sat in a grandstand overlooking an ATP match in Adelaide, I explained to him what the betting industry were saying about the highly suspicious activity regarding his sport. He might have listened but I couldn't help but get the feeling that it was all too hard to deal with. He and the ATP could have done so much more to warn players and take steps to cut out the illness before it became such a rampant disease.

ATP chief Etienne de Villiers should be sacked for his snail-paced handling of the Davydenko incident. He told BBC radio that, "When we get information we investigate it, as we've shown in our investigating with the alleged incident in Poland." Why on earth then did it take six weeks to talk to Davydenko? The Sopot match was on August 2 and he wasn't reportedly interviewed until after the Davis Cup on September 24. He should have been hauled in to be interviewed the day after the match without excuse.

In recent weeks we've had Dmitry Tursunov, Paul Goldstein, Michael Llodra, Janko Tipsarevic and two other unnamed French players all reportedly admit to being asked to throw a match. And then 'Muzza' came forward to tell us that "everyone knows corruption goes on" in tennis.

And rumors from a well-placed source at this years Australian Open had players being offered $50,000 to throw matches. Even more disturbing was the fact that those involved were believed to have had an accreditation pass dangling around their neck.

And still we have the authorities saying that they have "full confidence in the integrity of our sport" and that "we do not believe that our sport has a corruption problem".

Anyone who witnessed Davydenko's Sopot match with Vassallo-Arguello with the pre-match and in-running betting patterns in mind would have come to just one conclusion - the match was a blatant fix. He made shocking attempts at concealing deliberate errors and his feigning of a foot injury after winning the first set (thus giving those involved more opportunity to bet) was laughable. One would have to assume that chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani must have been asleep not to realise what was going on.

Davydeko's response to Murray's allegations are bizarre at best and contemptuous at worst. "Since Murray was describing in details how it all goes on, it means that he went deep into it. As if he was never involved in it, but he knows how it all works in details. It was folly of him to say this," he said. And the Russian added, "If Murray says that, that means he gambles himself. Because people who start talking out loud have their fears disappear."

Finally, a message for Mr Nikolay Davydenko himself. Just come clean. If Marion Jones can do it so can you. You are going to be the one that has to live with it for the rest of your life, your fears may never disappear.

A look back: Tennis Match Fixing history at OnThePunt