Hebben gokkers de tenniswereld in hun greep?

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Op dinsdag 8 januari 2008 11:21 schreef Wopper1 het volgende:
Volgens John van Lottum loopt er nu iig ook een onderzoek naar het wedgedrag van Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Hij schijnt erg veel geld te hebben ingezet op ''andere'' wedstrijden.

Zo ontzettend kansloos. Wat maakt het uit als een Nadal inzet op een winstpartij van Haase? Wat gaat ie doen dan als Haase achterstaat? Streaken op de betreffende court omdat hij toch toevallig in de buurt is

Maak gewoon de morele regel tot de juridische regel; niet wedden op gelijkspel of verlies van wedstrijden waar je zelf in mee doet.

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Op dinsdag 15 januari 2008 09:49 schreef PietjePuk007 het volgende:

[..]

Geen aanwijzingen

oogkleppen afdoen misschien een optie?

quote:

Op dinsdag 8 januari 2008 11:21 schreef Wopper1 het volgende:
Volgens John van Lottum loopt er nu iig ook een onderzoek naar het wedgedrag van Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Hij schijnt erg veel geld te hebben ingezet op ''andere'' wedstrijden.

Kolenschijter schijnt er toch wat dieper in te zitten. Zijn naam komt meerdere malen voor op een lijst met verdachte wedstrijden. O.a. afgelopen jaar in Metz (tegen Tsonga) en in Rosmalen waren er verdachte patronen bij het wedden op deze wedstrijd. Nou is een verlies tegen Roitman op gras sowieso verdacht
Ook zou de coach van Kohlschreiber dik ingezet hebben op een nederlaag van z'n eigen speler.

Hier wat leesvoer (van eind 2007) in het Duits voor de liefhebbers:

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Spielervereinigung bestraft ersten Tennisprofi
Italiener Di Mauro wegen Wettbeteiligung gesperrt - Auch der Deutsche Kohlschreiber gehört zu den Verdächtigen
Berlin - Im Kampf gegen Wettmanipulationen tritt der beste Tennisprofi der Welt ebenso entschieden auf wie auf dem Platz. Sobald es um die größte Gefahr für die Glaubwürdigkeit des Tennissports geht, verhält sich der Schweizer Roger Federer genauso entschlossen wie im Match: Er kennt keine Gnade.Während Federer sich in Shanghai auf sein erstes Spiel heute beim Masters Cup vorbereitete, dem Turnier der acht besten Profis des Jahres zum Saisonabschluss, zog die Spielervereinigung ATP den Weltranglisten-124. Alessio di Mauro für neun Monate bis zum August 2008 wegen Verstößen gegen die Wettregeln aus dem Verkehr. Außerdem muss der Übeltäter 60 000 Dollar Strafe zahlen, fast die Hälfte seiner Gewinnprämien auf Tennisplätzen. Der Italiener hatte zumindest von November 2006 bis Juni 2007 auf Tennisspiele gewettet, will aber gegen die Strafe vor den Internationalen Sportgerichtshof CAS ziehen.Die Rede ist von erheblicher Zockerpassion: Di Mauro soll 120 Wetten auf über 338 Spiele platziert haben. "Wir haben keine Beweise gefunden, dass der Spieler auf seine eigenen Matches gewettet oder versucht hat, den Ausgang von Spielen zu beeinflussen", sagte Gayle David Bradshaw, ATP-Direktor für den Spielbetrieb, allerdings. "Ganz ehrlich" findet der Branchenbeste Federer "es nicht richtig, wenn du als Tennisspieler auf Tennismatches wettest: Dann solltest du eine Geldstrafe bekommen oder für eine Weile gesperrt werden."Die Profis haben die Gefahr für ihren Beruf erkannt. Zahlreiche Spieler haben in den vergangenen Wochen eingeräumt, es habe Versuche gegeben, sie zu Spielmanipulationen anzustiften. Gegen den Russen Nikolai Dawidenko, Ranglistenvierter, läuft nach Hinweisen des Wettanbieters Betfair, der wegen Auffälligkeiten bei einem Dawidenko-Spiel in Sopot/Polen, die Wetten aussetzte, ein Ermittlungsverfahren. Ende Oktober brummte die ATP dem Russen nach einer Niederlage gegen Marin Cilic in St. Petersburg gar eine Geldstrafe von 1500 Euro wegen "eines Mangels an optimalem Einsatz" auf. Vor gut einer Woche in Paris ermahnte ihn der Stuhlschiedsrichter sogar während des Matches gegen den Zyprioten Marcos Baghdatis, sich mehr anzustrengen. Da Dawidenko eine Verschwörung wittert, teilt ihm ATP-Chef Etienne de Villiers kühl mit, die ATP veranstalte "keine Hexenjagd".Der Serbe Novak Djokovic, Rankingdritter, will für eine Niederlage beim Turnier in St. Petersburg im Vorjahr 165 000 Euro geboten bekommen haben. Der Brite Andy Murray sagt gar: "Jeder weiß, dass Spielmanipulationen im internationalen Tennisgeschäft stattfinden."Ein Wettanalyst hat der ATP eine Liste mit 140 äußerst verdächtigen Matches übergeben: Mit elf Auffälligkeiten liegt der Italiener Filippo Volandri vorn in dem wenig schmeichelhaften Ranking vor Martin Vasallo Arguello (9), dem Argentinier, gegen den Dawidenko in Sopot spielte, und seinen Landsleuten Sergio Roitman (8) und Mariano Puerta. Physiotherapeuten und Doppelspezialisten sollen beim organisierten Wettbetrug assistieren. "Ich glaube, dass vor allem Spieler mit hohen Ranglistenpositionen in Versuchung geraten", sagt Federer, "ich wurde noch nie angesprochen."Laut "Welt am Sonntag" zählt der Deutsche Philip Kohlschreiber zum Kreis der Spieler mit mehreren Matches mit verdächtigen Wettverläufen und seltsamen Spielausgängen. Beim Turnier in Metz Anfang Oktober als auch in s'Hertogenbosch Mitte Juni wurden Millionenbeträge auf Kohlschreibers Gegner, jeweils krasse Außenseiter, gesetzt, bevor der deutsche Favorit tatsächlich verlor. "Ich wurde bisher nie angesprochen", sagt der urlaubende Kohlschreiber, "für mich kommt Manipulation nicht in Frage."

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ATP gerät im Wettskandal unter Druck
Die PR-Strategen mögen sich die Hände reiben, dass Tennis wieder Schlagzeilen macht. Martina Hingis als vermeintliche Kokainkonsumentin, Tommy Hass als Opfer gemeiner Giftmischer. Nur der Chef des Männertennis ist über das neue Drogen- und Rock-'n'-Roll-Image der Branche wenig erfreut. Etienne de Villiers, den manche Spieler seiner Vergangenheit wegen beim Disney-Konzern etwas spöttisch "Mickey" nennen, steht enorm unter Druck. Der Wettskandal hat das Männertennis bei aller Aufmerksamkeit vor allem in Verruf gebracht. Und de Villiers, der Hardliner, erlitt bisher viele Schlappen. Diese Woche musste die Spielergewerkschaft ATP dem Protest stattgeben, den der Weltranglistenvierte Nikolai Dawidenko gegen eine Schiedsrichterentscheidung eingereicht hatte. Der Unparteiische verwarnte den Russen wegen mangelnden Engagements mit einer Geldbuße von 2000 Dollar und insinuierte so, dass er sein Spiel möglicherweise abschenken wolle. Doch nach einer Videoanalyse sprach das Berufungsgericht Dawidenko aus Mangel an Beweisen frei. Die Rehabilitation war für die ATP unangenehm. Nachdem Dawidenko Anfang des Jahres eine fünfmal so hohe Strafe kassiert hatte für seine Kritik am Management der ATP wie nun für sein vermeintliches Desinteresse auf dem Platz, war in den Medien schon von einer "Hexenjagd" die Rede. Muss die ATP auch ihre Ermittlungen gegen Dawidenko in der Wettaffäre ergebnislos einstellen, dürfte die Profi-Vereinigung, die zur Hälfte den Spielern gehört, selbst unter Beschuss geraten. Die ATP muss sich vorwerfen lassen, nicht entschieden genug gegen "Wettsyndikate" vorgegangen zu sein, wie sie de Villiers, seit Anfang 2006 an der Spitze der ATP, längst ausgemacht hat. 2003 legte die ATP zwar ein Antikorruptionsprogramm auf und verpflichtete 13 europäische Wettanbieter, verdächtige Wettbewegungen zu melden. Doch über die Einführung eines Frühwarnsystems, wie es etwa Betradar im Fußball anbietet, wird immer noch verhandelt. "So können auch weiterhin dubiose Buchmacher Tipps geben, über Mittelsmänner Wetten platzieren und Manipulationen decken", sagt ein Brachenkenner. Es kann deshalb kaum verwundern, dass viele Ermittlungen ins Leere laufen. Schon 2005 nahm nach Informationen der "Welt am Sonntag" die ATP Spieler ins Visier, die unter Manipulationsverdacht standen. Vor dem Erstrundenmatch in Basel 2005 soll ein Offizieller auf den ehemaligen Weltranglistenfünften Jiri Novak zugegangen sein, nachdem auffällig hoch auf den Sieg seines Gegners, des Schweizers Michael Lammer, gesetzt worden war. Lammer war nur mit einer Wild Card ins Hauptfeld vorgestoßen. "Wir beobachten dein Spiel genau", soll der Offizielle Novak zugeraunt haben. Der Tscheche wirkte verunsichert, gewann 7:6, 7:6. Jiri Novak bestreitet Manipulationsabsichten. ATP-Sprecher Kris Dent wollte das "nicht kommentieren" und verweist darauf, dass die ATP bei Dawidenko den bisher einzigen "ernst zu nehmenden Tatverdacht" hatte: "Auf anonyme Anzeigen können wir nicht reagieren." Ein Jahr später machte in Wettkreisen vor dem Zweitrundenmatch Philipp Kohlschreibers in Basel ein Hinweis die Runde, dass der Deutsche gegen Jose Acasuso aus Argentinien verlieren würde. "Ich habe einen Tipp von einem Buchmacher in der Risikoabteilung eines großen europäischen Wettbüros bekommen, dass Kohlschreibers Trainer auf die Niederlage seines eigenen Spielers wettet. Also habe ich mitgesetzt", sagt der Rumäne Sandor Lovasz, nach eigenen Angaben ein Berufswetter. Ein zweiter Wetter gab gegenüber "Welt am Sonntag" an, denselben Tipp wie Lovasz von einem Buchmacher bekommen zu haben. Kohlschreiber verlor an diesem Tag gegen Acasuso 6:7, 1:6. Kohlschreiber bestreitet, in Zusammenhang mit manipulierten Spielen zu stehen. Auch sein Trainer Michael Geserer dementiert: "Ich habe kein Wettkonto und noch nie eins besessen und auch nie gewettet." Auch sein zweiter Coach Markus Wislsperger widerspricht: "Ich habe mit diesen Verdächtigungen nichts zu tun. Ich habe noch nie eine Wette auf Tennismatches abgeschlossen." Zwar dürfen laut Wettregeln der ATP weder Spieler selbst noch dessen Angehörige, Physiotherapeuten und Trainer ein Wettkonto unterhalten. Doch Buchmacher haben Zugriff auf alle Benutzerkonten und können sie mithilfe der IP-Adresse leicht dem Umfeld eines Spielers oder Betreuers zuordnen. Weil nicht jeder im Tenniszirkel so unbedarft agiert wie Alessio di Mauro - der Italiener eröffnete ein Internetwettkonto unter eigenem Namen und wurde bei der ATP angezeigt -, sorgte bei den Topspielern ein Vorstoß aus dem Fußball für Zustimmung. Uefa-Präsident Michel Platini fordert die Einführung einer europäischen Polizei-Behörde ausschließlich für die Belange des Sports. Sie soll Hooligans ins Visier nehmen, aber auch Doper - und die Wettmafia.

van ESPN:
EDITOR'S NOTE: For nearly four months, ESPN's Enterprise Unit has investigated what could go down as the most notorious match in tennis history, the Aug. 2 match in Sopot, Poland, between Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina. In reports for ESPN.com and ESPN's "Outside the Lines" (airing Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET on ESPN and at noon ET on ESPNews), ESPN reconstructs how the match unfolded, reveals confidential information from the investigation conducted by the men's tennis tour of the wagering on the match and presents an accomplished gambler's conclusions on whether the match was fixed. Also, in the upcoming issue of ESPN The Magazine, ESPN takes a look at the ATP's response to the tennis gambling scandal.


The Super Punter

Mark Bell studies his computer screen, his slightly furrowed brow reflecting a quiet intensity entirely appropriate for the decision he is about to make.

On this day, as Bell visits with ESPN in a London betting shop, Barcelona, with its Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho, is hosting Stuttgart in a Champions League soccer match; and Bell is looking for action, scanning the odds on the British gambling Web site Betfair. He types quickly, flicks his wrist, clicks the mouse and -- just like that -- wagers nearly $140,000 on Barcelona, the heavy favorite.

This is typical for Bell, a professional gambler who risks more money on a single sporting event than most people make in a year.

Normally, Bell works from his office above the Elitebet trading room, sandwiched among the cramped storefronts of Highgate in North London. But on Aug. 2 of last year, Bell instead chose to work from his home in the quiet southeast London suburb of Mill Hill.

That day, he had his eye on a tennis match.

At 2 p.m. London time, Bell logged on to Betfair, as he does every day, to monitor the second round of the Orange Prokom Open. The world's No. 4 player, Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, was taking on No. 87 Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina.

It didn't take Bell long to realize this would not be an average day of betting online.

"Everyone was texting me and calling me, saying, 'Have you seen what's going on?'" Bell recalls.

Under normal circumstances, the match, being played 800 miles away in Sopot, Poland, barely would have registered on any gambler's radar, least of all that of someone like Bell. But something was amiss.

"Davydenko, prematch, should have been a massive, overwhelming favorite, with his opponent being a clear underdog, yet the odds didn't reflect that at all," Bell says.

Eventually, more than $7 million in wagers on the obscure match poured into Betfair, many of them against Davydenko, the tournament's defending champion.


Davydenko defenders claim his body takes a beating. For the third straight season he played more tournaments (30) than anyone else in the top 10.
"[Davydenko] became an underdog, a bigger underdog to lose the match, despite winning the first set," Bell says, characterizing the betting pattern as "unheard of in any tennis match prior."

Bell would know. At 27, he is what the Brits call a "super punter," the colloquial term for very successful gamblers. In a place where betting on sports over the Internet is both legal and a big business, he is riding a remarkable winning streak. Wagering on horse racing, soccer, tennis, darts and even some snooker, Bell says he has averaged nearly $2 million in gambling profits the past three years.

Tax free.

Unlike the IRS in the United States, the British government doesn't tax punters on their winnings.

The Exchange
Even before the first serve in Poland, concerned Betfair customers began dialing the company's call center in Stevenage, about 40 miles north of London. A record number of postings from anxious account holders flooded the Web site's members-only forum.

"We've got 40 to 50 thousand pairs of eyes on the site at any given time, and everybody was saying, 'There's something wrong here,'" Betfair managing director Mark Davies says.

Betfair is what is known in the online gambling industry as an "exchange." Launched in June 2000 by former professional punter Andrew Black and former J.P. Morgan vice president Edward Wray, Betfair represents a marriage of Internet sports betting and day trading. Unlike conventional gambling sites, where bookmakers set the odds, Betfair allows the punters to set their own odds and to bet at any point during play. The company simply matches up gamblers who agree to take opposite sides on bets.

A super punter like Bell, who risks tens of thousands of dollars, might bet at several different points during a sporting event, depending on how the odds shift, and go up against hundreds or even thousands of other Betfair customers, who each risk far less money.

Betfair wins, regardless of which punter prevails, keeping commissions of 2 to 5 percent of the winners' shares.

"We're like a stock exchange for bets, because we're putting people who have one view together with people who have the exact opposing view," Davies says.

Tennis currently ranks third in betting volume on Betfair, behind horse racing and soccer. For example, the company matched $60 million in bets on last year's epic five-set Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

But even the growing popularity of tennis betting couldn't explain the developments of Aug. 2, 2007.

"I think it's clear that somebody knew something," Davies says. "I don't think there's any doubt about that.

"[Davydenko] was winning comfortably, showing no signs of injury, and there was talk on our forum that something was going to go wrong, the wheels were going to come off somehow."

The Money Trail

Betfair and the Association of Tennis Professionals, the governing body of the men's tour, citing concern for an ongoing investigation, won't comment on specific details of the wagering. But information obtained by ESPN from a confidential ATP report reveals a massive concentration of betting by just a few Betfair account holders registered in Russia.

Professional gambler Mark Bell knew something was amiss by the abnormal wagering -- somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 million.
The report was compiled by Mark Phillips, a former bookmaker now employed as an investigator with the British Horseracing Authority, who was hired by the ATP to analyze the betting patterns on Betfair. According to the Phillips report, three Russia-based Betfair accounts risked a total of more than $1.1 million on Vassallo Arguello to win the match, despite the fact that, at the time, he was ranked 83 spots lower than Davydenko and never had won an ATP singles title.

Before the match began, according to the report, the Russian Betfair account operating under the username "Djults" wagered $540,942 on Vassallo Arguello to win the match. Then, just 15 minutes into the first set, with Davydenko leading 2-1, that same account holder added to the bet on Vassallo Arguello, this time backing him as a 1-7 favorite.

"To back a lesser player at 1-7 when his opponent was winning the match and appeared to be playing well showed a totally unrealistic level of confidence that [Vassallo Arguello] would win this match," Phillips wrote.

Referring to the specific bet, Phillips added, "This suggests the account holder was aware that the match would not be played to completion."

Phillips estimated that for Vassallo Arguello to trade on Betfair as a 1-7 favorite, he would have had to be leading Davydenko by a set and a service break. But Vassallo Arguello was down 2-1 when the bet was made, and he would go on to lose the first set 6-2.

According to the Phillips report, 24 minutes into the second set, the Russian Betfair account operating under the username "SgeniA" wagered $368,036 on Vassallo Arguello to win, backing him as a 1-5 favorite, even though by then, Davydenko was up a set.

"To place a bet of this size is highly suspicious," Phillips wrote.

Then there was the wagering by the account registered in Russia under the username "RustER."

The Phillips report states that between September 2005, when the "RustER" account opened, and April 2007, the account's average bet was just $814. But on Aug. 2, with the Sopot match even, the "RustEr" account wagered $253,833 on Vassallo Argeullo to win, backing him, at one point, as an overwhelming 1-11 favorite.

An unsuspecting bettor logging onto Betfair at the time of the last "RustEr" wager would have found Davydenko, the player who should have been the favorite, trading as a surprising 11-1 long shot.

When contacted by ESPN, Phillips would not comment on his findings. But he wrote in his report that he had never seen so much money wagered on such highly suspect odds.

The Investigation

Bell, the super punter, followed the heavy betting against Davydenko and soon was convinced he was on to a sure thing. So sure, he bet $60,000 on Vassallo Arguello, backing him as a 1-10 favorite.

Bell stood to win only $6,000 on that $60,000 bet.

At ESPN's request, Bell reviewed both Betfair's general betting patterns and the confidential information about the Russian accounts contained in the Phillips report.

Martin Vassallo Arguello's lone win over a player ranked in the top 40 last season was versus Davydenko in Sopot.
"I'm certain that from the betting patterns I was privy to, this match was 100 percent fixed," Bell says.

Davydenko eventually retired from the match in Sopot after trailing Vassallo Arguello 2-6, 6-3, 2-1, and later blamed a stress fracture in his left foot for his early exit.

Normally, Betfair would have paid Bell and everyone else who bet on Vassallo Arguello to win, once Davydenko withdrew. But at roughly the same time Davydenko was preparing to walk off the court in Sopot, defeated, managers at Betfair were struggling with a decision unprecedented in the company's seven-year history. Acting on the advice of its risk and integrity unit, the company decided to void more than $7 million in wagers on the match.

Just before 4 p.m. in London, not quite two hours after the Sopot match began, the thousands of bettors who had logged on to Betfair to follow a remarkable afternoon of tennis wagering all received the same message in bold red type: SUSPENDED.

"We said, 'Look, the betting doesn't appear to be fair,'" says Betfair's Davies. "That is a very, very long way from saying that we think that something is inherently corrupt in either of the players or in the match. It means that the betting wasn't fair."

Betfair and the ATP have an agreement to share information on suspect betting, so the gambling company immediately contacted the tour. Two days after the Sopot match, the ATP launched a formal investigation into the betting.

The tennis world hasn't been the same since.

Several players have come forward in the past six months with stories that they have been offered money to throw matches. Amid the fallout, Davydenko has become the headline figure in a full-blown betting scandal. He told ESPN, through an interpreter, that he never has been approached to fix a tennis match.

"I don't know how to throw a match," Davydenko says. "I know that if you are in pain and can't play on, you withdraw."

Davydenko adds that he has no knowledge of the Russian account holders who wagered so heavily against him.

Since early August, his camp has been highly critical of the way the ATP has conducted its investigation.

"What has happened here to Nikolay is just incredible," says Davydenko's attorney, Frank Immenga. "From the first day, he was pushed into the corner and treated like a criminal."

Says Ronnie Leitgeb, Davydenko's manager: "For me, the interesting thing was that immediately it was called 'The Case Davydenko.' This is really what did a lot of damage to Nikolay."

For its part, the ATP has had to strike the delicate balance of investigating a highly unusual betting pattern without unfairly indicting one of the sport's premier players.

"We never at any point mentioned Davydenko and went to great lengths, in fact, to stress that nobody should mention any player because their reputations were at stake," ATP executive chairman Etienne de Villiers says.

"[Davydenko] is a player, whether he is guilty or not, who deserves due process," de Villiers adds. "He deserves to live by something we all live by, which is, 'We are innocent until we are proven guilty.'"

ATP investigators have interviewed Davydenko, his wife, Irina, his brother Eduard (who also is his coach) and his opponent that day in Sopot, Vassallo Arguello.

"I don't think the investigation is going to show that Davydenko was involved in anything," Vassallo Arguello says. "Everything that happened on the court seemed very normal to me."

The Player

Reflecting on the day in August that changed his life, Davydenko recalls that when he stepped onto the red clay at the Orange Prokom Open, he was tired and had a nagging pain in his left big toe.

Known for playing one of the most grueling schedules on the ATP tour, Davydenko, by early August, was on a nasty losing streak. In the three tournaments leading up to the Sopot match, he suffered consecutive first-round losses, all on clay, all against lower-ranked opponents. Davydenko says that beyond his family, the only person he told about his sore foot prior to the Sopot match was ATP trainer Christiaan Swier.

There was no sign of trouble on the court for the world's fourth-ranked player through the first set. He easily won it 6-2.

But early in the second set, Davydenko began receiving treatment on his left foot. With his shoe off, shaded from the August heat by an umbrella, he winced as Swier massaged the base of his left big toe.

"I asked him … even during the second set, 'What will happen with my foot? Will it get worse or not?'" Davydenko says of his conversations with Swier as he was being treated between games. "He could not give me an answer."


After retiring from his Aug. 2 match, Nikolay Davydenko competed the next week in Montreal, reaching the quarterfinals.
As for the unusual betting patterns on Betfair and the heavy wagering on his little-known opponent by the accounts registered in Russia, Davydenko says gamblers might have noted the struggles he had in prior matches and perhaps also had inside information about his injury.

Davydenko's attorney, Immenga, questions whether Swier somehow tipped gamblers to the player's injury.

"Who knows what he really knew about this, you know?" Immenga says. "He could have told about five or six people to bet money."

"I didn't talk to anybody," Swier says. "There's nobody who came up to me and said, 'Is he injured or not?' But I don't know. The training room is not a closed environment."

Swier acknowledges that he, too, has spoken with ATP investigators, but he referred all other ESPN questions to an ATP spokesperson. According to an official injury report from the Orange Prokom Open, Davydenko's foot pain was due to "overuse during match play."

Davydenko's manager, Leitgeb, says that a week after the match in Poland, at the Rogers Masters tournament in Montreal, Davydenko was diagnosed by an ATP doctor with a stress fracture.

"I do have evidence that I was injured," Davydenko says. "That's why I couldn't finish the match."

The ATP won't comment on Davydenko's medical condition. But it appears, from his record on the court immediately after the Sopot match, that he recovered fairly quickly. The week after retiring against Vassallo Arguello, Davydenko beat two players ranked in the top 30 at the event in Canada, the same event where Leitgeb says Davydenko was diagnosed with a stress fracture.

Two weeks later, Davydenko was healthy enough to make it to the semifinals of the U.S. Open before he lost to Roger Federer.

Bell, the super punter, questions Davydenko's explanation of the events in Poland.

"I think that's a very lame attempt to create a smoke screen over the truth of the matter that he was never going to win that match," Bell says.

To Bell, the real story is in the Betfair marketplace, where odds shift and players rise and fall like commodities on a stock exchange.

"The bets that were being placed on the exchange reflect a level of surety way beyond any kind of guessing about this injury being an impediment," Bell says. "These bets were, 'I know something you don't. Please match me.'"

Adding to the intrigue in recent months have been unsubstantiated rumors that Davydenko might have connections to Russian organized crime. Davydenko dismisses them as "ridiculous" and "laughable."

"It's 2007, and there is no mafia in Russia," he says.

Leitgeb points to the fact that Davydenko moved to Germany at age 12, saying, "He's more German than Russian."

Immenga says that if the Russian mafia were somehow blackmailing or extorting his client, he would have told the ATP months ago. Instead, more than six months later, Davydenko remains under a cloud of suspicion in the minds of many tennis fans.

"I want them to know that I am not guilty in this matter, that in fact I am clean," Davydenko says.

He adds that he is angry the ATP investigation has taken so long.

The ATP responds by pointing out that Davydenko's ongoing refusal to turn over the phone records of his wife and brother has delayed the outcome of the investigation. Davydenko released his personal phone records to investigators in early December.

"[The ATP] made it a very public investigation," Leitgeb says. "So at the end of the day, they have to come out with a statement, because they cannot just leave it in the air."

The central question is whether Davydenko, or anyone in his inner circle, has a connection to the people who wagered so heavily on him to lose to Vassallo Arguello.

"We need to connect the dots," says the ATP's de Villiers. "Certain bets took place at certain times. Certain people placed those bets. We need to try and connect those dots. Were they related? How were they related?"

Privately, those close to the ATP investigation say the gamblers who had their huge wagers voided by Betfair likely made a killing by betting on Vassallo Arguello to win either on other gambling Web sites or the old-fashioned way -- with bookies.

While Betfair and the men's tennis tour won't comment on specific details of the investigation, Betfair says it has a general "know your customer" policy and so knows the identities of the people who open accounts with the site. Davydenko, though, says ATP investigators told him they have come up empty in pursuit of the Russia-based accounts.

"[The investigators] say that accounts are in false names and it's very difficult to find out who they are," Davydenko says. "They say that the bets were definitely placed in Russia, but they don't know exactly from where or what."

De Villiers says the tour will devote as much time and money as necessary to find out what really happened in Sopot, but after more than six months of investigating, his confidence is tempered by a sinking reality that the outcome might remain unclear.

"We may never know," he says. "We may get to the point where we think we know, but we can't prove it."

John Barr is a reporter and William Weinbaum is a producer for ESPN's Enterprise Unit.

Leuk verhaaltje. Maakt nog maar eens dat Davy zo schuldig als wat is, maar dat wisten we natuurlijk al

ja het voegt weinig nieuws toe maar biedt wel een goed overzicht van alles wat er tot nu toe besproken is etc

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Op maandag 11 februari 2008 19:10 schreef wimderon het volgende:

Leuk verhaaltje. Maakt nog maar eens dat Davy zo schuldig als wat is, maar dat wisten we natuurlijk al

quote:

Adding to the intrigue in recent months have been unsubstantiated rumors that Davydenko might have connections to Russian organized crime. Davydenko dismisses them as "ridiculous" and "laughable."

"It's 2007, and there is no mafia in Russia," he says.

Priceless.

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Op maandag 11 februari 2008 19:15 schreef APK het volgende:

[..]


[..]

Priceless.

quote:

Op dinsdag 12 februari 2008 10:45 schreef BliksemSchigt het volgende:
Twee Russen

Familie van ?

Het zal me niks verbazen als Querrey met 2-0 wint van Schuckin. Er wordt VEEL meer op deze wedstrijd ingezet dan op andere, ook op de 2-0.

Proftennisorganisatie ATP heeft Giorgio Galimberti honderd dagen schorsing en een geldstraf van bijna 24.000 euro opgelegd. De Italiaan zou tussen juni 2003 en januari 2006 weddenschappen hebben afgesloten op tennisduels. Of hij ook op zijn eigen wedstrijden gokte, is niet duidelijk.

Galimberti staat op plaats 1009 op de wereldranglijst. Hij is na Potito Starace, Daniele Bracciali en Alessio di Mauro de vierde Italiaanse tennisser die door de ATP geschorst is vanwege ongeoorloofde gokpraktijken.

Big Dick wist het al

. Dick. .

Dick" Het orakel" Norman

quote:

Op maandag 18 februari 2008 23:44 schreef wimderon het volgende:
Big Dick wist het al

[ afbeelding ]

Wie is Dick

Oh een zuiderling. Waarom post ie dat


Ah heb een topic van 'm gevonden: Het walgelijk grote Dick Norman fantopic - deel 1.
Wat een HELD

[ Bericht 16% gewijzigd door jmac op 18-02-2008 23:56:52 ]

Het schorsen van B-Italianen om (relatief) niks gaat verder

quote:

Decision in the case of Federico Luzzi
London. – The ATP, governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuit, announced today that Federico Luzzi, Italy has been found to have committed an offence under Article C.1 of the 2008 ATP Tennis Anti Corruption Program, namely wagering on the outcome or any other aspect of an ‘Event’ (tennis matches or competitions).

An ATP investigation, launched in August 2007, found that Mr. Luzzi had wagered 273 times on 836 tennis matches between May 2004 and April 2007. Of these 273 bets, one was a ¤3 (Euros) bet, placed on himself to win. ATP found no evidence of any attempt by Mr. Luzzi to affect the outcome of any tennis match; this was a conclusion shared by the independent Anti Corruption Hearing Officer, Dr. Peter Bratschi.
The independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer confirmed that an offence had been committed under the Tennis Anti Corruption Program and determined that Mr. Luzzi should be suspended from participation on the ATP Tour for a period of 200 days and fined $50,000.

The ATP received the information that triggered these investigations in August 2007 via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the European Sports Security Association (ESSA). That MOU was signed in January 2007.

“The ATP’s Tennis Anti Corruption Program is clear that gambling on tennis matches by ATP players, player associates or staff will not be tolerated,” said Gayle David Bradshaw, ATP’s Executive Vice President, Rules & Competition. “The ATP is committed to ensuring the integrity of our sport and will continue to instigate disciplinary proceedings against anyone found to be breaking our Anti Corruption Program’s rules.’

3 hele fucking euro's . Ophangen die hap .

Als er iets een onomstotelijk bewijs van onschuld is, is het wel het inzetten van 3 euro op jezelf om te winnen. Dan ben je ofwel volkomen onschuldig, ofwel je hebt het IQ van een hersendode mol. Waarschijnlijk beiden.

idd.. 't moet niet gekker worden.

En zo kunnen we de premier soccerleague ook wel opheffen want die spelers gokken zelf ook als een gek op collega's to score @ andere matches e.d.

quote:

Op zaterdag 1 maart 2008 02:16 schreef BliksemSchigt het volgende:

Hey, het kan natuurlijk ook een cover-bet van Luzzi zijn.

Heeft 'ie na twee jaar bonushunten eindelijk 2000¤ verdiend, krijgt 'ie een boete van 50.000$

zolang de wedstrijd dus nog gaande is kan je inzetten? Raar. Je zou zeggen dat de inleg sluit bij aanvang van wedstrijd

quote:

Op zaterdag 1 maart 2008 02:31 schreef TubewayDigital het volgende:

zolang de wedstrijd dus nog gaande is kan je inzetten? Raar. Je zou zeggen dat de inleg sluit bij aanvang van wedstrijd

Live betting is helemaal viessss tegenwoordig.