Gambling Rings Offer Bribes To Tennis Players

[Mean Green 93-98]

Wonder how many more are going to come out of the woodwork now?

Two Belgian tennis players say they were asked to take bribes

Sep. 27, 2007

CBSSports.com wire reports

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Two Belgian tennis players said Thursday they had been approached to take bribes to lose matches, including at Wimbledon.

Gilles Elseneer said he refused an offer of $141,270 to lose a first-round match against Italy's Potito Starace at Wimbledon in 2005.

"I would get ($70,635) before the match and ($70,635) after," he told VRT television in an interview posted on its website. "I thought at first it was a joke because it involved an awful lot of money.

"But rest assured that it happens a lot. It involves a lot of money."

Elseneer refused to say who approached him other than that "they are active in the tennis world." He said the bribe offer did not involve other players or coaches.

Elseneer, a qualifier, beat Starace 6-3, 7-6 (11-9), 6-3. He lost in the second round to Richard Gasquet in four sets.

"I was favored to win against Starace on grass," Elseneer said. "They invested ($141,270) in me, but they put a heavy bet on my opponent, ensuring a good payback."

Elseneer says he was approached about a bribe at Wimbledon in 2005. (Getty Images)

Another Belgian, Dick Norman, said he had been approached six or seven years ago at a lower-level challenger tournament in Italy to take cash to lose.

"This was a lot more than if I won the tournament. I said no," Norman told daily De Standaard.

Norman said he was also asked to divulge tips or bits of information on other players who were either having personal problems or concealing minor injuries. Such information could be useful to gamblers betting on matches.

The new claims come amid concern that pro tennis is being infiltrated by gambling rings.

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko is under scrutiny after a British online gambling company tracked bettors putting 10 times the usual amount of money on a match he played in August.

Most of the backing was for his 87th-ranked opponent; Davydenko quit in the third set with a foot injury.

Davydenko has denied any involvement in gambling and has welcomed a widespread probe conducted by the ATP men's tennis tour.

Tour rules in place since 2003 bar players or members of their entourages from betting on tennis or providing inside information to others, with penalties of $72,950 in fines and lifetime bans.

The ATP board is also considering a new rule that would punish anyone who fails to report any information about someone else's possible gambling activity.

http://www.sportsline.com/tennis/story/10375882