Sports News
Doubles Titlists Suspended for Betting on Matches
Doubles specialists Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak, both coming off tournament titles, were suspended Monday by the ATP for betting on tennis matches.
Neither player wagered on his own matches, and an independent hearing officer found no evidence of any intent to affect the outcome of matches bet upon, the governing body of men's tennis said.
Cermak, a Czech ranked 34th in doubles, was suspended for 10 weeks beginning Monday and fined $15,000. He's ranked 34th in doubles and teamed with Rogier Wassen to win the doubles title Sunday at the Dutch Open.
Mertinak, a Slovak ranked 37th in doubles, was suspended for two weeks and fined $3,000. He teamed with Petr Pala to win the doubles Sunday at the Croatia Open.
Professional tennis has taken steps to combat gambling since an online betting site voided all bets on a match involving top-five player Nikolay Davydenko last year because of suspicious gambling patterns.
Five Italians have been suspended and fined for betting on tennis. Other players have come forward to say they were approached by people trying to influence a match.
The ATP said an investigation begun last November found Cermak wagered on matches from September 2006 to February 2007. Mertinak bet on matches in October 2006, the ATP said.
"The ATP's tennis anti-corruption program is clear that gambling on any form of tennis match will not be tolerated," said Gayle David Bradshaw, ATP executive vice president. "The program was introduced to ensure the integrity of our sport, and all connected to the tour have a duty and responsibility to ensure that integrity is upheld."
At Wimbledon last month, the ATP board approved new match-fixing sanctions recommended by an independent panel.
Under new guidelines, players are required to report any suspicious contact from gambling syndicates within 48 hours of being approached. Sanctions range up to life bans for players found guilty of match fixing. Players and their families and entourages also could be banned from betting on matches.
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