Two British tennis players approached to fix matches, coach reveals
Thursday 21 January 2016 15:59, UK
Two British tennis players were approached to fix matches in Turkey two years ago, their coach has revealed.
Richard Gabb and Scott Clayton were approached at a tournament in Turkey two years ago by Russian player Andrey Kumantsov, who was already being investigated for fixing and subsequently banned for life.
The pair rejected the approach and immediately reported it to the authorities.
Dave Sammel, the head coach at Bath's high performance centre, said: "There was a Russian player who approached two of my guys.
"He had been approaching other players. He was doing it in Turkey and then he did it at a Futures (the lowest level of professional tennis) in England, and he got done for it. I told them they needed to report it immediately.
"I do know when they've been at Futures in Turkey that they've been approached to throw matches or sets. But that's all at Futures level. I've never heard of anything directly at Challenger or Tour level."
The Tennis Integrity Unit, which enforces the sport's anti-corruption code of conduct, has come under scrutiny following a report that allegations of match-fixing were not being properly investigated.
The report cited 16 unnamed players around whom there was persistent suspicion but who had been allowed to continue playing.
On Wednesday, Novak Djokovic was forced to deny allegations in Italian newspaper Tuttosport that he threw a match against Fabrice Santoro in 2007.
And following his final singles match at the Australian Open on Thursday, Australian Lleyton Hewitt described as an "absolute farce" the emergence of his name in connection with the story.
The 34-year-old said: "I think it's a joke to deal with it. Obviously, there's no possible way. I know my name's now been thrown into it. I don't think anyone here would think that I've done anything with corruption or match-fixing. It's just absurd.
"For anyone that tries to go any further with it, then good luck. Take me on with it. It's disappointing. I think throwing my name out there with it makes the whole thing an absolute farce."
