Suspicions of match-fixing have surfaced after Monday’s first-round match at the Dallas Challenger between Augustin Velotti of Argentina and Denys Molchanov of the Ukraine.
More: Starace, Bracciali Facing Match Fixing Allegations
According to this hefty report from the website “DW on Sport,” betting activity was furious around the match, and the odds of Velotti winning actually increased after he lost the first set.
From the article, here is some of what is considered to be damning evidence of a classic "fix," but please keep in mind that all parties are innocent until proven guilty:
“Despite being broken serving for the set, Molchanov immediately broke back and with the second chance to serve for the set, the price on Agustin Velotti continued to fall. Having been priced as 48.3% chance to win the match at the start, he was now priced as a 75.2% chance of winning the match, despite being down a break and potentially about to lose the opening set of the match. In other words, Velotti was apparently significantly more likely to win the match at this point than he was at the start.
“Denys Molchanov successful served out the opening set and Velotti's price continued to drop. Now, you do not need any understanding of betting and odds to understand that a player that was given a 48.3% chance of winning a tennis match before the start should not be given a 80.6% chance of winning a match at a set down, unless there is something suspicious going on.”
Then there is this video of Molchanov’s “suspicious” play in the third set of the match. At first glace it just appears to be an awkward slip-up, the type that one sees in many a Novak Djokovic match and laughs about, but when one takes into account the context of the story, it does appear to be a little strange.
On Twitter, tennis fans quickly took notice of the story and chimed in:
On BAtennis.com, there was an interview with the winning player, Velotti, in which he says he had nothing to do with the perceived match fixing. Here is an excerpt from the interview. You can read it in its entirety here:
"To be honest, I’m shell shocked! I have no idea how betting works. I worked my ass off during the match. I am finding out about this right now. No, I didn’t realize something odd was going on. He acted like something was bothering him. Like his shoe or something… I thought he twisted his ankle at that time. I swear on my life and family I have absolutely nothing to do if something fishy was going on… I never even imagined something like this could happen. I would never be a part of anything like this. I give my best and devote myself to training and playing tennis. The sacrifice of my family and people are priceless to me. I win with dignity and lose with dignity. I do not care about what my rival does. I have nothing to do with him. I played my match at my best effort. Even though I didn’t play well, I gave my best."
At this point, there is no official word from Molchanov.
Photo Source: @TheTennisNerds