Spanish Players Verdasco, Marrero Caught Up In Match-Fixing Scandal At Wimbledon - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

Latest news

Spanish Players Verdasco, Marrero Caught Up In Match-Fixing Scandal At Wimbledon

The 2013 ATP World Tour Finals Champions have issued statements following suspicions they deliberately corrupted their own match at the The All England Club.

Published

5 years ago

on

David Marrero (R) and Fernando Verdasco of Spain (zimbio.com)

An investigation has been launched by the Tennis Integrity Unit into a Wimbledon men’s doubles match concerning two Spanish players.

 

Former world No.7 Fernando Verdasco and his partner David Marrero have been contacted by the sports anti-corruption agency concerning their loss in the first round. Last week, ABC Australia confirmed that a match has been reported to authorities without naming the players. It was done so after bookmaker Pinnacle Sports spotted ‘irregular betting patterns.’ The New York Times later became one of the first publications to link Verdasco and Marrero to the case.

“We followed our strict protocol when it comes (to) match-fixing alerts by notifying the authorities on site at Wimbledon and reducing our market offering immediately,” Pinnacle manager Sam Gomersall was quoted as saying by ABC News.

Pinnacle Sports suspicions were raised when they noticed that bets placed on the match was being done from accounts that had a history of wagers on suspicious matches. Verdasco and Marrero lost the match 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1 to Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer and Portugal’s Joao Sousa.

Both players have now spoken out about the allegations for the first time. Denying any wrongdoing. 38-year-old Marrero, who is a former world No.5 doubles players, told the EFE news agency that he was ‘surprised’ that he was under investigation.

“I was at home packing my suitcase because tomorrow, Friday, I’m heading to Germany, and this news caught me by surprise. I had no idea. What do want me to say? Just like always, go ahead and investigate because I’m very much at ease,” He said on Thursday.

Later that same day, Verdasco took to social media to protest his innocence. Stating that he would ‘never compromise’ the integrity of the sport.

A murky history

It is not the first time that Marrero has been under investigation. During 2016 bets was suspended on a mixed doubles clash involving him and Lara Arruabarrena at the Australian Open. They lost their match 6-3, 6-0 to Andrea Hlavackova and Lukasz Kubot. Both players had their phones examined by the TIU before they were later cleared of match-fixing.

During that same year Verdasco was forced to deny that he was involved in match-fixing after the media questioned him about a series of suspicious matches. Including the first round of the 2015 US Open where there was changes in the odds to suggest a heavy bet being made against him. Verdasco defeated Tommy Haas 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1.

“There is many things that they said about someone,” he told reporters in January 2016.
“You know, at the end we know that all that is out there and we will fight to change that. But it is hard, no? At the end there is many people in this world, and is impossible to control everyone. But we are trying – if it was up to me, I would take out the betting. But I can’t. I don’t have that power. We are trying to fight against that. I cannot really say anything more. Like I said, it’s tough to control what everybody says.”

The fight continues

Earlier this year a long-awaited report by the Independent Review Panel concluded that there was a ‘Tsunami’ of corruption in lower level events. But found no evidence of a cover-up by the sports governing bodies. Between 2009-2017 they concluded that 83% of suspicious matches involved the men’s tour.

The issue continues to be a problem in the world of tennis. The ESSA (Sports Betting Integrity) reported that they have flagged 27 suspicious matches during the first quarter of 2018. More than double compared to any other sport.

In June, former world No.78 Nicolas Kicker was handed a six-year ban (of which three years are suspended) for match-fixing offences in what was one of the most high-profile cases of recent years. He was also found guilty of failing to co-operate with the relevant authorities.

Ubitennis has contacted Pinnacle Sports, who flagged up the Verdasco and Marrero match. When asked if they have identified any other suspicious matches at this year’s Wimbledon Championships, they declined to give a comment.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Latest news

Luca Nardi beats Flavio Cobolli but it’s not enough to advance to the semifinals at the Next Gen Finals

Published

2 hours ago

on

30/11/2023

By

World number 115 Luca Nardi overcame Flavio Cobolli in an Italian match 3-4 (4-7) 4-2 4-3 (7-1) 1-4 4-3 (7-3) in 2 hours and 14 minutes in the final round robin match of Green Group at the Next Gen Finals at King Abdullah Sports Club in Jeddah. 

 

The win was not enough to earn a semifinal spot for Nardi. Arthur Fils is the first player to qualify for the knock-out stage. The top seeded Frenchman will face Dominic Stricker later today. Stricker needs to win just one set to reach the semifinals. 

Both players went on serve in the first set en route to the tie-break. Cobolli earned two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-4. 

Nardi saved two break points in the third game of the second set to take a 2-1 lead. The world number 115 broke serve in the sixth game to close out the second set 4-2. 

Cobolli converted his second break point in the first game of the third set. Nardi pulled back on serve in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Nardi opened up a 3-0 lead with two mini-breaks. Cobolli pulled one of the two mini-breaks back for 1-3. Nardi won the final four points with two mini-breaks to claim the tie-break 7-1. 

Nardi clutched his groin when he was serving at 0-1 in the fourth set and called a medical time-out at 0-3. Cobolli earned a break in the second game to close out the fourth set 4-1. 

Cobolli saved two break points to hold serve in the second game. Nardi fended off two break points in the fifth game. Both players held on serve en route to the tie-break. Nardi earned his first mini-break with a backhand flick from out wide to take a 2-1 lead. Cobolli pulled the mini-break back to draw level to 2-2. Nardi closed out the match with a return down the line winner.   

Nardi hit 27 winners to 12 unforced errors. 

“I am happy with the win. Even if I did not qualify, I think today was the best match I played out of the three. I am a bit sad I did not qualify, but I did not want to leave Jeddah without a win. I kept fighting today and I am happy”, said Nardi. 

Continue Reading

Latest news

Hamad Medjedovic moves to 2-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

19 hours ago

on

29/11/2023

By

Hamad Medjedovic edged past Luca Van Assche 4-2 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 to move to 2-0 In Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah one day after winning a marathon five-set match against Alex Michelsen. 

 

Medjedovic broke serve in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve and saved two break points in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2. 

Van Assche saved three break points at 2-2 before breaking serve in the sixth game  with a running forehand pass to seal the second set 4-2. 

Medjedovic earned a break point in the first game of the third set, when Van Assche made a double fault. Van Assche saved them to hold on his serve. Both players held on serve en route to a tie-break. Van Assche raced out to a 5-1 lead. Medjedovic won three consecutive points to claw his way back to 4-5. Van Assche earned three set points at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6, but Medjedovic won the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7. 

Medjedovic left the court for nine minutes for a bathroom break. 

Medjedovic broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. When he was serving out the match, he saved three break points as he closed out the win with two unreturned serves. 

“For sure the tie-break changed a lot of things in this match. He had three set points. I stayed focused on the important points. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, and I am glad that I won the tie-break”, said Medjedovic. 

Continue Reading

Latest news

Abdullah Shelbayh upsets Alex Michelsen to win his first win at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

23 hours ago

on

29/11/2023

By

Jordan’s wild card Abdullah Shelbayh beat world number 97 Alex Michelsen 4-2 1-4 4-0 4-0 to clinch his fourth top 100 win. Shelbayh moves to 1-1 in Red Group. 

 

Shelbayh hit 26 winners, including seven aces. The Asian player will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in his third round robin match. 

Shelbayh earned the first break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The wild card held his next two service games at 30 to close out the first set 4-2. 

Michelsen, who reached the ATP 250 final in Newport last summer, broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead, when Shelbayh made a backhand error. 

Michelsen earned a break point in the first game of the third set, but Shelbayh saved it with an ace. The Jordanan player held serve before breaking serve to close out the third set 4-0. Shelbayh won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the fourth set 4-0. 

“Having the opportunity to play here now to finish here, I could not ask for a better end to the year. I appreciate all the support throughout the week that I have been receiving already, throughout the year and from the Arab world especially. It makes me happy to represent my country. There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on you shoulders when you are representing your country and the region you come from”,said Shelbayh. 

Shelbayh improved his ATP ranking from world 470 to 185. His tennis idol is Rafael Nadal. Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal for more than five years. Toni Nadal flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13 years old to recruit him to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He became the first Jordanan player to win a main-draw ATP Tour match last April against Elias Ymer in Banja Luka. 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending