Novak Djokovic claims he was approached to fix a match
Monday 18 January 2016 15:27, UK
World No 1 Novak Djokovic has claimed he was indirectly approached to fix a match in 2006 and has denounced the practice as a "crime in sport".
Djokovic instantly rejected the bribe and insists he is unaware of any match fixing currently happening at the top level of tennis.
An investigation carried out by the BBC and Buzzfeed alleges that over the last decade a core group of 16 players have repeatedly been brought to the attention of the sport's governing bodies over suspicions they have fixed matches.
It's an act of bad sportsmanship, a crime in sport. I don't support it. I think there is no room for it in any sport, especially in tennis.
The report claims all of the 16 players have ranked in the world's top 50 and that more than half of them were playing in the Australian Open first round, which started on Monday.
ATP Tour executive chairman Chris Kermode has rejected suggestions they have not been vigilant in investigating possible match fixing in the sport.
Djokovic has previously claimed he was offered £110,000 to lose a first-round match at a tournament St Petersburg but says the bribe was turned down.
"I was not approached directly," said Djokovic. "I was approached through people that were working with me at that time, that were with my team.
"Of course, we threw it away right away. It didn't even get to me, there was nothing out of it.
"It made me feel terrible because I don't want to be in any way linked to this - somebody may call it an opportunity.
"For me, it's an act of bad sportsmanship, a crime in sport honestly. I don't support it. I think there is no room for it in any sport, especially in tennis."
Swiss great Roger Federer believes that offenders need to be identified before significant progress can be made.
"I would love to hear names," said the 17-time Grand Slam winner. "Then at least it's concrete stuff and you can actually debate about it.
"Was it the player? Was it the support team? Who was it? Was it a doubles player, a singles player? Which slam?
"It's so all over the place. It's nonsense to answer something that is pure speculation."
When asked whether paying lower-ranked professionals more might combat the threat, Federer responded to the journalist: "I completely disagree with you. I think you don't understand.
"It doesn't matter how much money you pump into the system, there's always going to be people approaching players, or people, in any sport.
"I agree we should have more money at futures, challengers, all these levels, but it's not going to solve the issue. The issue is elsewhere, it's in the player's mind.
"We need to make sure the integrity of the game is always maintained because without that, I always would say, why do you come and watch this match tonight or any match?
"As long as we don't know the outcome, the players, fans, it's going to be exciting. The moment that gets taken away, there's no point any more to be in the stadium."
World No 1 Serena Williams said she has also never seen any indication of malpractice on the women's tour.
"Not that I'm aware of," said the American great.
"When I'm playing, I can only answer for me, I play very hard, and every player I play seems to play hard."
