Serve & Protect? "OTL" Examines Tennis Gambling Investigation

Sunday’s edition of ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” examined the investigation into the August '07 tennis match between Nikolay Davydenko, ranked No. 4 at the time, and Martín Vassallo Arguello (ranked No. 87) that “sparked concerns that dozens of high-level matches may have been tampered with.” ESPN’s John Barr reported more than $7M in wagers were bet on the match with U.K.-based wagering site Betfair, "much of it against Davydenko.” Barr noted after “easily winning the first set, Davydenko received repeated treatment on his left foot beginning early in the second. He says he began the match with pain in his left big toe and that perhaps gamblers received inside information about the injury.” Barr: “More than six months after the ATP investigation began, there’s no end in sight. Davydenko turned his personal phone records over to investigators in early December, but so far has refused an ATP request for phone records from his wife and brother.” ATP Chair Etienne de Villiers said, “We may never know (what happened during the match). We may get to the point where we think we know but we can’t prove it.” Barr: “ATP investigators have interviewed Davydenko, his brother Edward, who is also his coach, his wife Irina and (Christiaan) Swier, the tour trainer who treated Davydenko. They’ve also spoken with Vassallo Arguello, his opponent.” Vassallo Arguello: “I was on the court with him and I don’t believe he was involved in anything.” When asked if he had any connection to the Russian mafia, Davydenko said, "It is just funny. It is ridiculous. There is no mafia in Russia.” ESPN's Bob Ley noted that “concerns about possible match-fixing in tennis pre-date Nikolay Davydenko’s match last August. In fact, they go back at least six years" (“Outside The Lines,” ESPN, 2/10).

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