A "suspicious plunge" of about A$80,000 ($55,645) on a mixed doubles match that would normally attract as little as A$800 ($556) in betting is at the center of an "investigation into possible match-fixing at the Australian Open," according to Le Grand & Walsh of THE AUSTRALIAN. Tennis Integrity Unit detectives have questioned players at the center of the scandal, "which prompted a large, Caribbean-based bookmaker to suspend all betting on the match on Sunday." The "suspicious plunge is being examined by Victoria Police." Acting "on a tip-off about betting irregularities at Melbourne Park, a tennis reporter from the New York Times witnessed the match and was struck by the poor play of one member of the losing doubles team, Spaniard David Marrero." Journalist Ben Rothenberg said, "Once it started you could see some things potentially play out as you thought they might based on where the money was going before that. It was definitely pretty surreal." The final scoreline "was a lopsided 6-0 6-3, with Marrero holding just one game off his serve." Marrero and his doubles partner, countrywoman Lara Arruabarrena, "denied any knowledge of match fixing when questioned by the journalist." Marrero "blamed his poor performance on a knee injury that he took into the match." Concerns about the integrity of the "mixed doubles fixture were first raised by Pinnacle Sports, an offshore betting agency licensed in the Caribbean island of Curacao." Although "unable to operate legally in Australia, the bookmaker provided Victoria Police and the TIU with details of a pre-match betting plunge that installed Kubot and Hlavachova as short-priced favourites" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 1/26).
