Breaking news: ATP bans doubles specialists Cermak and Mertinak for betting
Posted on July 21, 2008
Filed Under News
The Czech Republic’s Frantisek Cermak and Slovakia’s Michal Mertinak, doubles specialists, both coming off tournament titles, have become the latest players to be banned and fined for sports betting on tennis matches. The two Eastern European doubles specialists were suspended after being found guilty of gambling on tennis matches, the ATP announced on Monday (July, 21 2008).
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, the Czech tennis player ranked 34th in doubles, was found guilty of sports betting on matches other than his own between September 2006 and February 2007 by the probe conducted by the ATP. He was suspended for 10 weeks beginning Monday and fined $15,000 (Euro 9,450). He is ranked 34th in doubles and teamed with Rogier Wassen to win the doubles title Sunday at the Dutch Open.
Mertinak, a Slovak tennis player ranked 616th in the world and 37th in doubles, was charged with gambling on the outcomes of matches in October 2006. He was suspended for two weeks and fined $3,000. He teamed with Petr Pala to win the doubles Sunday at the Croatia Open.
In April, a report into betting in the sport found irregularities in 45 matches played in the last five years, with its authors urging tennis’s three ruling bodies (ATP, WTA and ITF) to implement radical change.
The ATP’s anti-corruption programme 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’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 sports betting on matches.
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