Chennai: There is a strong possibility that the Chennai Open, India’s pride as an ATP event, could have been a platform for fixing tennis matches, according to a report put out by CNN-IBN. The news channel claims to have access to documents which reveal that in the past 10 years, 16 players in the top-50 ATP rankings in some point in their career, have repeatedly been reported for suspicions of match-fixing.
The reputed Chennai Open, which had seen world stars like Nadal, Rafter and Wawrinka participate, might take an image hit if reports are true that the event is under the scanner. But then it appears even Wimbledon matches had been fixed in the past.
The documents, according to CNN-IBN, also reportedly show the presence of a Grand Slam winner among the suspected 16 who has been repeatedly reported for losing highly-suspicious matches. The documents said that players were targeted at hotel rooms at major tournaments and the basic price to fix a match was around $50,000.
The document revealed that intricate match-fixing networks in North Italy, Sicily and Russia have been identified as three big groups. There are 11 accounts of Russian betting racket, either based in Moscow or St Petersburg, while the one in Sicily has 10 accounts.
