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"Say It Ain't So" - the Shadow over Tennis

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After Betfair voids a whole market because of irregular betting patterns, Barry Millns asks whether Tennis needs to toughen up to protect punters...

"Say it ain't so" - the immortal line attributed to a young fan confronting 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson during the Chicago Black Sox scandal, applies just as much now to professional tennis as it did to baseball nearly 90 years ago.

Jackson and seven of his White Sox team-mates were banned from the sport for life following allegations that they threw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Baseball was never quite the same again.

To suggest that some of today's multi-millionaire tennis stars are deliberately throwing matches for financial gain seems far-fetched. Surely they have far more to lose than to gain from such deception should they be so inclined and exposed?

I have no doubt that the vast majority of tennis matches are truly competitive and above suspicion. More likely is the case of innocently divulged 'inside information' being used by others connected to the sport.

But following Betfair's unprecedented step last week, amid concerns about irregular betting patterns, to void all £3.5 million of wagers placed on the Nikolay Davydenko / Martin Arguello match in Sopot, it is imperative that the ATP's 'match-fixing' investigation, launched as a result, is fearless and thorough.

By its very nature singles tennis involving just two individuals is even more susceptible to 'match-fixing' than team sports, such as baseball or more recently cricket. One only has to look at the public's perception, however unfounded, that past results between Serena and Venus Williams were pre-determined by the family to see what damage can be done.

In the days before the main events became mandatory, when vast appearance fees were used to attract top players to tournaments, there were undoubtedly instances of individuals putting in sub-par performances, taking the money and running.

Four years ago the ATP did tighten its rules after betting on a match in Lyon between Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Fernando Vicente was suspended amid suspicions over the amount gambled.

Yet there were still more than a few eyebrows raised in betting circles last year following Richard Bloomfield's shock first-round victory at Wimbledon over Carlos Berlocq. More than $600,000 was placed on Bloomfield to win, even though he was ranked 170 places below the Argentine at the time.

As Britain's new Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said last week in announcing the UK government's 'zero-tolerance' approach to cheating in sports, "Once sport is blighted by a problem, be it doping or gambling, the credibility of that sport is ruined."

Tennis has put itself in the position where it can make a judgment based on the betting records it has access to. Hopefully the sport is committed to proving itself above reproach - anything less would be a terrible disservice.