Match-fixing is an issue that only occurs in lower level tournaments according to the head of Russian tennis Shamil Tarpischev.
The comments come as Russian player Vitalia Diatchenko came under investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU). The world No.677, who has been blighted by injury in recent months, lost 6-1, 6-1, in the first round of the US Open to Timea Bacsinszky. The match was flagged up after suspicious betting patterns were detected, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the players are guilty of corruption.
“There are many reasons other than corrupt activity that can explain unusual betting patterns.” The TIU said in a statement.
According to the New York Times, the ‘match alert’ was sent to the TIU by Russian bookmaker Fonbet. Bet365 also suspended betting on two games during the encounter and reduced the value of the wagers placed on the match.
“As with all cases, the TIU will assess, make a judgment and take appropriate action on the alert information received and obtained for the first round singles match between Vitalia Diatchenko and Timea Bacsinszky,” said the TIU.
In wake of the latest allegations, the head of Russian tennis jumped to the defence of Diatchenko and has hit out at the New York Times report, saying that people should not be ‘paying attention to a tabloid’.
“Diatchenko is a good tennis player, talented, Unfortunately she has had a lot of injuries. It makes it difficult for her, but she can play very well.” He said in an interview with Tass News.
“As for the match, the defeat was quite predictable I do not see any scandal, it is not necessary to pay attention to a tabloid.”
Former top 100 player Diatchenko has also played down the suspicions during an interview with the New York Times, saying that she was ‘surprised’ that people was placing money on her.
Tarpischev’s understandable defence of his player was nothing unexpected, but it was his later comments that stirred controversy. At the start of the year a joint an investigation conducted by the BBC and Buzzfeed News uncovered evidence that the TIU failed to address numerous cases of match-fixing in recent years. The investigation also claimed that eight of the identified match-fixers from their report participated in the first grand slam of this year. Despite the damning investigation, Tarpischev has insisted that there is no culture of match-fixing on the pro tour.
“The problem of match-fixing in tennis, if there is, it is only at the lower levels.” He said. “In the elite level, What’s the point? It will sooner or later will be revealed.”
It is the second time this year that a grand slam match has come under scrutiny by the TIU. The first was a mixed doubles encounter at the Australian Open where Andrea Hlavackova and Lukasz Kubot defeated Lara Arruabarrena and David Marrero 6-0, 6-3, in the first round. All four of those players have since been cleared of wrongdoing.
