First the NBA, now Tennis, say it isn't so

DiMauro, like Pete Rose, did not bet on his own "team" ;-)

 

I would imagine tennis -- or any individual sport for that matter -- would be a hot-bed for fixing, if only for the simple fact that it's much easier to guarantee the outcome when you don't have teammates to worry about. Same goes for boxing or any other one-on-one event.

 

That's exactly right. The only reason it took so long to come out was because it involves lesser-ranked players, who quite frankly need the money.
To the big guys, $50K for throwing a match is pocket change. To a guy struggling in the minors, it's a year's worth of travelling expenses.

What's amazing is the amount of money bet on matches between two obscure players in some obscure tournament halfway around the world. That's because of online betting. People will bet on anything - especially if they don't have to leave the basement.

The recurring theme here is "Russian" and "Italian." (mafia).

 

Just saw ESPN's report on the original game last August. Interesting piece, and I somewhat believed Davydenko until he said:

"There is no mafia in Russia."

Now I know the fix was in.

 

This one's amazing. Three people were sitting in the stands, betting on games going on in front of them on laptops. After officials realized what they were doing, the two Russians and German were ejected.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=3242002

 

Sounds like some press rooms I've been in.