Brian volgt tennis, dat maakt hem een strijder
By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Tennis Writer
August 23, 2007
The U.S. Open hired a security firm run by a former New York City police commissioner, set up a whistle-blower hotline and is taking other steps to make sure it doesn't wind up with a gambling scandal.
In the wake of a recent betting investigation in tennis and a former NBA referee's admission he gambled on games he officiated, the U.S. Tennis Association decided "to see if there's something more that we can do," USTA senior director of communications Chris Widmaier said Thursday.
"We're taking this very seriously," Widmaier said by telephone from New York. "Do we think there's a problem? Actually, we don't. But we want to make sure we're as equipped and have as much knowledge of this issue as we can. At the end of the day, this goes to the integrity of the game."
The U.S. Open, the year's last Grand Slam tournament, begins Monday. Security firm SafirRosetti -- which has worked with horse racing's New York Racing Association, as well as various professional sports leagues and clubs -- will have an investigative team on site during the two-week tournament.
"We specialize in monitoring and integrity ... to make sure there's no illegal activity involved, to make sure there's no organized crime presence and, in this case, to make sure there's no wagering" by players or others involved in the Open, SafirRosetti chairman and CEO Howard Safir said in a telephone interview.
Safir was New York's police commissioner from 1996-00, appointed by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
"Everybody is, of course, aware of the recent referee scandal in the NBA," Safir said, "and that makes everybody supersensitive."
Former NBA ref Tim Donaghy faces up to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty this month to two felony charges.
The men's tennis tour, meanwhile, is looking into suspicious betting on a match involving Nikolay Davydenko, a U.S. Open semifinalist last year and seeded fourth this year. A British online gambling company voided all bets on a match in Poland between Davydenko and No. 87-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello after receiving about $7 million in wagers, 10 times the usual amount.
"Players are concerned about it, because they certainly don't want it to happen," U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said. "They would like it to be fully investigated and get to the bottom of it and make sure it doesn't happen again."
The Davydenko-Arguello match also led the four Grand Slam tournaments to confer with the International Tennis Federation and the men's and women's pro tours about establishing a unified antigambling program.
The USTA's recent moves were "prompted by both -- Donaghy and Davydenko," Widmaier said.
That includes the hotline for players or others to anonymously provide tips about possible gambling policy violations. Antigambling policies and penalties will be addressed in e-mail messages and meetings for players and officials.
Also, signs describing the Open's gambling policy have been posted in locker rooms, player lounges, training rooms and elsewhere around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Under the heading, "REMINDER," the signs read: "The participation in or aiding and abetting, directly or indirectly, of any form of gambling or betting involving tennis is strictly prohibited. The USTA has a zero tolerance policy on gambling or betting involving tennis, and any violation of such policy will result in immediate disciplinary action."
Bron
US Open: bijltjesdag voor oud-winnaars, Nadal en Djokovic door
Auteur : Peter Kooijman . 1 september 2007 11:07 . 2 Reacties
Afgelopen nacht is het bijltjesdag gebleken voor enkele voormalig winnaars van de US Open. In de tweede ronde van het tennistoernooi in New York vonden Marat Safin en Lleyton Hewitt hun Waterloo. De Rus Safin ging met driemaal 3-6 ten onder tegen de Pool Stanislas Wawrinka. Terwijl Hewitt verloor van Agustin Calleri met 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 2-6.
Nummer twee van de plaatsingslijst Rafael Nadal bereikte de volgende ronde op de US Open door opgave van zijn tegenstander Janko Tipsarevic. Na twee sets verloren te hebben en een 3-2 stand in de derde set gaf de Serviër er de brui aan. Een ribblessure verhinderde het verder spelen. Ook Nadal leek niet verschoont te blijven van blessures. De Spanjaard kampt met problemen aan beide knieën. Behandeling door zijn medische begeleiding maakte het spelen in de tweede ronde mogelijk.
Nenad Djokovic wist in een spannend en mooi tennisduel Radek Stepánek maar net van zich af te houden. In een marathonpartij van vier uur en driekwartier versloeg de Serviër zijn tegenstander in vijf sets 6-7 (4) 7-6 (5) 5-7 7-5 7-6 (2). Voor aanvang van de laatste en allesbeslissende tie-break kregen de twee heren tennissers een staande ovatie van het aanwezige publiek in New York.
Ook Tommy Robredo had de nodige moeite om de derde ronde te bereiken. De Spanjaard had vijf sets nodig om service kanon Mardy Fish te kunnen verslaan. Fish wist in de vierde set nog een setpoint te overleven waarna hij zelfs in de vijfde set een voorsprong van 1-4 nam. Robredo wist zich wonderwel terug te knokken om er met de winst van door te gaan 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4.
Hieronder vindt u de actuele ranglijsten van de ATP- en de WTA-tour. Deze ranglijsten worden iedere maandag geactualiseerd, uitgezonderd in weken waarin Grand Slam-toernooien worden gespeeld. In dat geval worden de nieuwe ranglijsten gepubliceerd na afloop van het toernooi.
ATP-wereldranglijst per 27-8-2007
Positie Speler Punten
1. Roger Federer 7605
2. Rafael Nadal 5485
3. Novak Djokovic
3670
4. Nikolay Davydenko
3255
5. Andy Roddick
2990
6. James Blake
2390
7. Fernando Gonzalez
2255
8. Tommy Robredo
1950
9. Tomas Berdych
1925
10. Tommy Haas
1880
11. Mikhail Youzhny
1880
12. Ivan Ljubicic
1780
13. Richard Gasquet
1740
14. Guillermo Cañas
1648
15. David Ferrer
1565
16. Lleyton Hewitt
1495
17. Carlos Moya
1445
18. Marcos Baghdatis
1440
19. Andy Murray
1420
20. Paul-Henri Mathieu
1265
95. Robin Haase
437
113. Raemon Sluiter
384
214. Peter Wessels
197
242. Jesse Huta Galung
163
285. Dennis van Scheppingen
129
376. Fred Hemmes
89
381. Thiemo de Bakker
86
401. Matwe Middelkoop
79
476. Nick van der Meer
55
524. Antal van der Duim
46
WTA-wereldranglijst per 27-8-2007
Positie Speelster Punten
1. Justine Henin
4692
2. Maria Sharapova
3845
3. Jelena Jankovic
3429
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova
3176
5. Ana Ivanovic
2847
6. Anna Chakvetadze
2586
7. Amelie Mauresmo
2376
8. Nadia Petrova
2238
9. Serena Williams
2237
10. Marion Bartoli
1989
11. Daniela Hantuchova
1968
12. Patty Schnyder
1774
13. Elena Dementieva
1770
14. Venus Williams
1765
15. Nicole Vaidisova
1708
16. Dinara Safina
1708
17. Martina Hingis
1621
18. Tatiana Golovin
1586
19. Shahar Peer
1524
20. Sybille Bammer
1196
33. Michaëlla Krajicek 801
182. Elise Tamaela 171.75
198. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 148
279. Nicole Thyssen 90
340. Michelle Gerards
64.25
403. Pauline Wong
47
596. Marcella Koek
23.50
598. Leonie Mekel
23.25
641. Marlot Meddens
19
696. Chayenne Ewijk
15.50
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