French TV airs interesting programme on tennis match fixing

French TV Channel France 2 has made an interesting inquiry into the match fixing issue in tennis in its programme.

The Corentin Segalen, the coordinator of the national platform for the fight against sporting manipulation (ARJEL), says: “When you earn 800 euros a month and you get offered 2,000 to lose….” This is even after the fact that the French law does not allow to bet on Challengers and Futures matches. The online websites apparently manage to circumvent the law.

In the programme, an obscure former player, who retired recently and never went attained a prominent ATP ranking, meets a man called “Master,” who is connected to an International betting network that places small amounts on large scale.

The ex-player says: “You can get big earnings. We know how to hit the ball 20 cms down the line, and how it can be unseen.”

A young French rising star received a message to fix the match on Facebook hours away from playing his first Futures:

“I was offered to lose the first set for 1,000 euros.” He immediately alerted his coach and then the authorities, which led to the arrest of a 20-year-old near Strasbourg. The amount offered is reportedly much larger in the Grand SlamsIn the Futures, around 2000. And the too big gap has been known for years. In 2003, Olivier Mutis played the ATP Stuttgart as world No. 75 and in the first round he faced Nikolay Davydenko, world No.25 who would get a career-high ranking at No. 3 three years later. “A man came up to me to offer me €15,000 to lose in straight sets,” Mutis said. “It’s more than winning two matches.”

He refused, but this approach made him being less focused and lost 6-0 7-6. “I don’t even know why I was approached since he was stronger than me.”

Source: tennisworldusa.org