In an upsetting incident, South African tennis star Kevin Anderson has revealed that he received a barrage of death threats following his first round ouster from the Wimbledon Championships.
The 30-year-old Anderson, seeded No. 20 in the men’s draw, faced a stunning five-set defeat at the hands of Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin on Monday, following which his social media accounts were bombarded by people who had betted the other way round.
“Bummed to have lost yesterday, but at least I had a ton of death threats on Facebook and Twitter to make me feel better about things,” Anderson tweeted. “Thanks to GOOD people out there who stick with me through this tough year,” he added.
The slender 6’7” footer, later, spoke to BBC about the mounting rise of match fixing scandals revolving around the world of tennis.
“It pretty much happens after every match regardless of the circumstances,” he said. “People who have bet on the match tend to take to social media and say very inappropriate things.
‘It’s just something you have to deal with as a professional athlete who is in the limelight. That’s the reality of the world we live in.”
