Melbourne: Two players at the Australian Open said Monday they have been interviewed by officials over reports their opponents may have deliberately lost their first round mixed-doubles fixture, fuelling fresh fears of match- fixing in tennis.
The remarks by Lukasz Kubot and Andrea Hlavackova came after the New York Times reported an online bookmaker had suspended gambling on the lowly match because of unusual betting patterns.
All players involved in the match rejected the claims of a fix.
The allegation by betting firm Pinnacle Sports came after the BBC and BuzzFeed said last week players who had been in the sport’s top 50 had repeatedly fallen under suspicion but had never faced action.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that ahead of their match, a large amount of money had backed Hlavackova and Kubot to beat Spaniards Lara Arruabarrena and David Marrero, far more, the paper said, than would usually be wagered on a first round match.
Marco Blume of Pinnacle Sports told the paper the firm suspended betting on the match 13 hours before it began.
The Times’ dispatch was dampened, however, by two major betting companies reportedly contradicting the claim.
The Sydney Morning Herald said William Hill and Betfair kept betting open for the match and logged no unusual activity.
Kubot and Hlavackova defeated Arruabarrena and Marrero 6 -0, 6-3 before bowing out in the second round.
“I just spoke with TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit)… and I will keep that confidential,” Poland’s Kubot told reporters on Monday, with his Czech partner Hlavackova also confirming she met with TIU officials.
Both said they had never been involved in a match where they thought anything was wrong.
“I didn’t see and I didn’t look at anything after the match,” Kubot said. (PTI)
