Match-fixing "has been suspected in at least four matches played at New Zealand's premier tennis tournament over the past five years," according to Anderson & Cleaver of the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. One match "played at the Heineken Open in 2011, one in 2012 and two in 2014 have caught the eye of those investigating suspicious betting patterns on the ATP Tour."
One player who is understood to have been "red-flagged" to betting and tennis authorities was involved in two of the questionable matches.
Tournament director for the '11 and '12 editions, Richard Palmer, on Wednesday said that while he had no knowledge of anything untoward in the particular matches identified and can "barely recall" the player supposedly involved twice, players were often accused of tanking -- the practice of losing on purpose -- at the Auckland tournament. He said, "Some players just wanted to get off to Australia [to prepare for the year's first grand slam, the Australian Open]. Or they were not trying for other reasons." The four matches in question at Auckland "saw late spikes in money on a certain result" (NZ HERALD, 1/28).
