DJOKOVIC: I’M NOT A CHEAT
World No 1 accused of ‘wanting to lose’ 2007 Paris match
World No 1 Novak djokovic yesterday dismissed as ‘absurd’ a report that he deliberately lost a match at a prestigious tournament in Paris.
Italian newspaper Tuttosport published a story with a headline suggesting that he ‘wanted’ to lose a match at the 2007 Paris Indoor Masters, where he unexpectedly went down 6- 3, 6- 2 to French veteran Fabrice Santoro.
djokovic, who the previous week in that autumn had wisdom-teeth surgery, completely rejected the idea that there could be anything else behind what was a surprise defeat. ‘It is not true,’ he said after reaching the third round of the Australian open with a 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 victory over French teenager Quentin Halys.
The report referring to the Paris match is unrelated to allegations made in a BBC/BuzzFeed report, which has brought renewed attention to tennis’s struggles to allay concerns about match-fixing since the explosion in online betting.
The Tuttosport story stems from the wide-ranging Cremona investigation handled by police authorities in northern Italy. It was primarily conducted to unearth evidence of corruption in football but spilled over into tennis.
of his encounter with then world No 39 Santoro, he said: ‘I remember that match. My response is that there’s always going to be... especially these days when there is a lot of speculation, this is now the main story in tennis, in the sports world... there are going to be a lot of allegations.
‘I said everything I needed to say two days ago. Until somebody comes out with the real proof and evidence, it’s only speculation.
‘What is there to say? I’ve lost that match. I don’t know if you’re trying to create a story about that match or, for that matter, any of the matches of the top players losing in the early rounds, I think it’s just absurd.
‘Anybody can create a story about any match. That’s my point. There haven’t been too many matches where top players lost in the last decade or so in early rounds. You can pick any match that you like and just create a story out of it. I think it’s not supported by any kind of proof, any evidence, any facts. It’s just speculation. So I don’t think there is a story about it. It’s not true.’
A major source of the Cremona evidence has been the computer records of Manlio Bruni, the business manager of footballer Beppe Signori, according to the Tuttosport report.
The match in question took place at the last event of the regular season before the year- end tour championships. djokovic was already a rising star and had reached No 3 in the world. There was the expectation that, under normal circumstances, he would have beaten his then 34-year- old opponent Santoro.
However, in the week prior to the tournament djokovic had surgery on his wisdom teeth, and was below his usual form. ‘I couldn’t give my 100 per cent, not even 30 per cent of my possibilities,’ he said after the match, according to contemporaneous reports.
‘He deserved to win. I’m still on medication. I didn’t practise for a week, I only started practising two days ago. Physically, I’m not feeling at all good. It’s been a very long season and I’m really exhausted,’ said the then 20-year- old Serb. ‘I hope people will understand.’
A slightly bizarre detail of the match is that djokovic walked on court wearing a Zorro mask. It took place on Halloween, and at the time the extrovert Serb was known for his crowd-pleasing tomfoolery.
The report says the Cremona team did not wish to investigate djokovic. Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) operatives are said to have examined the circumstances and taken the view that his poor health and dental work were a perfectly satisfactory explanation for the result against the skilled Santoro.
According to one experienced tennis better, djokovic was heavy favourite on the markets at the start of the match, which would have been entirely normal.
The report in Tuttosport also states that members of the TIU twice met the Cremona team and their lead investigator, magistrate roberto di Martino, to discuss their findings relating to tennis, which mainly involve journeymen Italian players.
on Monday djokovic confirmed that he was once indirectly offered around £100,000 to throw a match at the 2006 St Petersburg open, which he flatly refused to do.
After addressing the report the world No 1 was asked whether he regretted the swirl of innuendo currently affecting tennis.
‘of course. You don’t want these kinds of subjects or speculations going around,’ he said. ‘I think that certain media are just trying to create a story out of it without any proof. So as long as it’s like that, it’s just a story. That’s all.’
over this fortnight djokovic is attempting to win his sixth Australian open title. His victory over Halys means he has won 22 consecutive sets.