Do you think any matches were ever fixed?

Nadal = Borg

Nadal = Borg

Banned
Boxing is a lot like tennis in that they are both Mano a Mano .

Boxing matches have been fixed so why not tennis? It would certainly be easy to do and the money would be incredible.

Nadal is the heavy favorite for the FO.... If he were to lose then some one would make a TON.
 
Dilettante

Dilettante

Hall of Fame
I don't think so, not at the top level.

Al least there's not any big upset I can think of that seemed strange when I watched it.
 
tacou

tacou

G.O.A.T.
there was the davydenko debacle but nothing was ever proved....tennis is such an old sport and like you said 1vs1 so something mightve be worked out between players.

Id be more interested if the institution like ATP or tournament owners approached players about a match outcome!
 
cc0509

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
The answer is, who really knows for sure. The more money that is involved in any enterprise, the more likely there is to be corruption involved. That is just a fact. To say that fixing never goes on in tennis would be foolish. To what extent and at what levels the fixing occurs most at, that is the million(s) dollar question.
 
Dilettante

Dilettante

Hall of Fame
tacou said:
tennis is such an old sport and like you said 1vs1 so something mightve be worked out between players.
Click to expand...

Not at top level (at top level not even in boxing it's a common thing). The profitable bets would be in important matches and those top players have little to win and much to lose if they're caught.

Also it would be needed a very high bet ratio and thar rarely happens in important matches (finals, semis, etc) because players in those matches are more or less levelled tio have such big ratios.

And if an underdog gets to an important final and produces high ratio bets, it would be stupid to think the top favorite player would lose that match on purpose for money.

For me, everything points to think it doesn't happen.
 
Nadal = Borg

Nadal = Borg

Banned
Safin, Kafelnikov admit to link with Russian mobster
PTI | Aug 2, 2002, 11.49am IST

Article
Comments





TORONTO: Russian tennis players Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov both admitted to links with Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov on Thursday, but distanced themselves from the alleged mobster charged with fixing figure skating results at the Winter Olympics.
Kafelnikov, who crashed out in the third round of the Canada Tennis Masters to Guillermo Canas of Argentina, said after his defeat that Tokhtakhounov was a "good friend" but would not elaborate on their relationship.
"He is a good friend of mine but I'd rather talk about tennis," said fifth seed Kafelnikov. "I wasn't distracted (by the news).
"You know whatever happens there...I'm sure it's some kind of mistake."
U.S. federal prosecutors in New York said they had charged Uzbek-born Tokhtakhounov, 53, over an alleged plan to fix the pairs and ice dance competitions at February's Salt Lake City Games on behalf of French and Russian competitors.
Italian police, who arrested Tokhtakhounov at his seaside home, bluntly described him as "a senior member of a money-laundering group comprising of mostly non-Italians".
Safin, the second seed in Toronto, also admitted to knowing Tokhtakhounov following his third-round victory over Chilean Marcelo Rios.
Questioned if he knew him, Safin replied: "Yeah". But he was evasive when asked if the alleged mobster was his manager.
"I don't mean to be rude but you will not understand, it is not our problem," said Safin. "I don't think it would be nice to talk about this today."
 
Nadal = Borg

Nadal = Borg

Banned
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33169-2002Aug1.html



Kafelnikov: Mobster Arrest a Mistake

_____News From Russia_____

• U.S. Team To Press Moscow on Iran Issues (The Washington Post, Jul 30, 2002)


The Associated Press
Thursday, August 1, 2002; 7:55 PM

TORONTO –– Russian tennis star Yevgeny Kafelnikov insists the reputed mobster charged with trying to fix Olympic skating results has been mistakenly accused.

"He's a good friend of mine, but I'd rather talk about tennis right now," Kafelnikov said Thursday after losing at the Tennis Masters Canada.

Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov was arrested Wednesday in Italy on U.S. charges he set up a vote-swapping scheme at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

"Whatever happened there, I'm sure it's some kind of mistake," said Kafelnikov, winner of two Grand Slam singles titles.

Italian police say an investigation into the Russian mafia uncovered the alleged ice-skating fix, as well as Tokhtakhounov's ties to other sports figures, including Ukrainian tennis player Andrei Medvedev.

Medvedev's Web site featured a 1999 picture of him with Tokhtakhounov, along with Kafelnikov and fellow Russian tennis star Marat Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion. That photo and two others with Tokhtakhounov were removed from the site Thursday.

"He's very close to Medvedev," police Col. Giovanni Mainolfi said, though he did not speculate on the nature of the relationship. Medvedev could not be reached for comment Thursday.

© 2002 The Associated Press
 
Nadal = Borg

Nadal = Borg

Banned
images


Safin, Mevedev, the mobster Tokhtakhounov, Kafelnikov[/QUOTE]
 
Joe Pike

Joe Pike

Banned
Nadal = Borg said:
Boxing is a lot like tennis in that they are both Mano a Mano .

Boxing matches have been fixed so why not tennis? It would certainly be easy to do and the money would be incredible.

Nadal is the heavy favorite for the FO.... If he were to lose then some one would make a TON.
Click to expand...


Is there any betting office accepting bets for "Nadal not winning"?
Could you give us the odds then?
 
Joe Pike

Joe Pike

Banned
Nadal = Borg said:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33169-2002Aug1.html



Kafelnikov: Mobster Arrest a Mistake

_____News From Russia_____

• U.S. Team To Press Moscow on Iran Issues (The Washington Post, Jul 30, 2002)


The Associated Press
Thursday, August 1, 2002; 7:55 PM

TORONTO –– Russian tennis star Yevgeny Kafelnikov insists the reputed mobster charged with trying to fix Olympic skating results has been mistakenly accused.

"He's a good friend of mine, but I'd rather talk about tennis right now," Kafelnikov said Thursday after losing at the Tennis Masters Canada.

Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov was arrested Wednesday in Italy on U.S. charges he set up a vote-swapping scheme at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

"Whatever happened there, I'm sure it's some kind of mistake," said Kafelnikov, winner of two Grand Slam singles titles.

Italian police say an investigation into the Russian mafia uncovered the alleged ice-skating fix, as well as Tokhtakhounov's ties to other sports figures, including Ukrainian tennis player Andrei Medvedev.

Medvedev's Web site featured a 1999 picture of him with Tokhtakhounov, along with Kafelnikov and fellow Russian tennis star Marat Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion. That photo and two others with Tokhtakhounov were removed from the site Thursday.

"He's very close to Medvedev," police Col. Giovanni Mainolfi said, though he did not speculate on the nature of the relationship. Medvedev could not be reached for comment Thursday.

© 2002 The Associated Press
Click to expand...


And what came out of it?
What Tokhtakhounov sentenced?
And what was the nature of his relationship to Medvedev?
 
D

dominikk1985

Legend
Joe Pike said:
Is there any betting office accepting bets for "Nadal not winning"?
Could you give us the odds then?
Click to expand...

No but he could tank in a first round match against no. 80 and get 20 times his stake:).

however I don't think that would be a good idea. himself he couldn't do it of course, but even if a friend would bet 100K against him the bookies would become suspicious.

the bookies today have controlls. no one will care for you if you bet 500 dollars, but the really big bets are looked closer on.
 
U

urban

Legend
Many matches with Bobby Riggs involved. And many matches on the ATP tour in the last years have been dubious for the betting mafia influence. Even Federer's promoter is a betting man.
 
Mortifier

Mortifier

Hall of Fame
I suspect Robredo-Llodra a couple of years ago being fixed, also a match with Dolgopolov a year ago had a strange aura around it.
 
niff

niff

Legend
At the lower levels, yeah of course. Moscow and St Petersburg in particular are pretty dreadful/funny to watch alongside the betting patterns.
 
8

8F93W5

Rookie
In the 70s and 80s some matches were fixed. Not for betting purposes, but because one of the players wanted to leave town after the match. They would just lose on purpose. Mostly doubles but some singles too. Sometimes they would tell the other team/player before the match. Sometimes they would agree to share the prize money from the match. Back when prize money was not too good, a top player may have double booked himself and had to be at an exhibition in another city the next day. He could easily win the match and tells the opponent he'll lose on purpose and later he'll get a cut of the prize money he forfeited. Sometimes in mixed doubles a player (usually the man) lost early in singles and just didn't want to stay around all week (or two) and finish the mixed, so they'd throw the match. The author of the book where I read all this told of a men's doubles match where on team was throwing the match, but at the same time, a player on the other team was sick and they had a very hard time losing. The book was either Courts Of Babylon by Bodo, or Short Circuit by Meshaw.
 
Nadal = Borg

Nadal = Borg

Banned
Joe Pike said:
And what came out of it?
What Tokhtakhounov sentenced?
And what was the nature of his relationship to Medvedev?
Click to expand...

He got away with it and we will never know what really happened . In the real world bad guys don't always finish last.

Here's what I found from Forbes 10 most wanted men:

Previous | Next
In Pictures: The World's 10 Most Wanted
 


Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov

Originally from Uzbekistan, Tokhtakhounov is the face of the modern Russian mob, especially since Semion Mogilevich was detained earlier this year. Tokhtakhounov is known as "Taiwanchik" for his Asian features. The U.S. government calls him a "major figure in international Eurasian Organized Crime" who has been involved in "drug distribution, illegal arms sales and trafficking in stolen vehicles."

He is suspected of fixing everything from beauty pageants to Olympic events in Utah. In 2002, the U.S. government indicted him for bribing Olympic figure skating judges to favor the French team, robbing Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier of gold medals in the pairs competition. The U.S. tried to get him after he was arrested in Italy, but the Italians eventually freed Tokhtakhounov, who has since disappeared and is probably in Russia.
 
M

Manus Domini

Hall of Fame
8F93W5 said:
In the 70s and 80s some matches were fixed. Not for betting purposes, but because one of the players wanted to leave town after the match. They would just lose on purpose. Mostly doubles but some singles too. Sometimes they would tell the other team/player before the match. Sometimes they would agree to share the prize money from the match. Back when prize money was not too good, a top player may have double booked himself and had to be at an exhibition in another city the next day. He could easily win the match and tells the opponent he'll lose on purpose and later he'll get a cut of the prize money he forfeited. Sometimes in mixed doubles a player (usually the man) lost early in singles and just didn't want to stay around all week (or two) and finish the mixed, so they'd throw the match. The author of the book where I read all this told of a men's doubles match where on team was throwing the match, but at the same time, a player on the other team was sick and they had a very hard time losing. The book was either Courts Of Babylon by Bodo, or Short Circuit by Meshaw.
Click to expand...

Is it really that hard to lose? lol
 
kiki

kiki

Banned
8F93W5 said:
In the 70s and 80s some matches were fixed. Not for betting purposes, but because one of the players wanted to leave town after the match. They would just lose on purpose. Mostly doubles but some singles too. Sometimes they would tell the other team/player before the match. Sometimes they would agree to share the prize money from the match. Back when prize money was not too good, a top player may have double booked himself and had to be at an exhibition in another city the next day. He could easily win the match and tells the opponent he'll lose on purpose and later he'll get a cut of the prize money he forfeited. Sometimes in mixed doubles a player (usually the man) lost early in singles and just didn't want to stay around all week (or two) and finish the mixed, so they'd throw the match. The author of the book where I read all this told of a men's doubles match where on team was throwing the match, but at the same time, a player on the other team was sick and they had a very hard time losing. The book was either Courts Of Babylon by Bodo, or Short Circuit by Meshaw.
Click to expand...

The Menshaw book, which I´ve read a couple of times, is very interesting and well repported on that...In the Golden Era of the game, since there were so many exos, paying big bugs for just showing up (" guarantees") it has happened a few times, always involving top players.
 
G

Gizo

Hall of Fame
Certainly at challenger level match fixing takes place and in some of the smaller ATP events as well. The Zagreb tournament held the week after the Australian Open is notable for match fixing.
 
R

rainingaces

Legend
What was the name of that Italian player who was banned for a lengthy period of time for betting on himself? Not match fixing but still not aloud.

Anyone who manages to watch a reply of the Davydenko vs Baghdatis (even more obvious then when he got the "not best effort" warning from the chair) match from Paris 2007 or Martin Vassello Arguello vs Davydenko, Sopot 2007 (ATP investigation was launched because betfair reported suspicious betting patterns inplay and cancelled all bets placed on this match) and still thinks a ATP match has never been fixed is naive.
 
Mainad

Mainad

Bionic Poster
When asked why he always seems to be talking about money,Nikolay Davydenko replied: “because I’m Russian.All Russians love money".
 
jamesblakefan#1

jamesblakefan#1

G.O.A.T.
It's naive to think that no top players have ever tanked matches for betting purposes. Even more naive to think that lower ranked players won't fix matches to get more money.
 
ivan_the_terrible

ivan_the_terrible

Hall of Fame
Match fixing? don't make me 'LOL'.

Tennis is a clean sport, it's the same as saying some players may be using PEDS.

Get a grip, dude and toss that tinfoil hat into the garbage.
 
ksbh

ksbh

Banned
The Australia - India world cup match was fixed. How else could an over-hyped team beat a 3 time defending champion who weren't playing too bad themselves?
 
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