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.
I was interviewed by TIU regarding betting activity on my doubles match at Wimbledon. I fully support the TIU work as I have always been totally committed to integrity and transparency in our sport and will never compromise that.
— Fernando Verdasco (@FerVerdasco) July 12, 2018
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.
