'Match-fixers must be punished severely'
Murray calls for tough action after reigning Australian Open boys' champion charged for rigging a match
A match-fixing charge in Australia has underlined concerns about corruption in tennis ahead of the year's opening Grand Slam, with top players frustrated at another scandal hitting the sport.
Police said an 18-year-old Australian had been charged with match-fixing at a tournament in Victoria last October and would appear in court in March.
Australian media yesterday named him as Oliver Anderson, an emerging star who is the reigning Australian Open boys' champion.
The claim, just days before the world's leading players assemble in Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of the season, related to a first-round match at the second-tier Traralgon Challenger event.
World No. 1 Andy Murray, playing in the Qatar Open in Doha, did not want to comment on the specifics but stressed that corruption must be tackled.
"It's disappointing for the game any time something like that comes out," said Murray.
"However, if people are caught and charged, I see that as being a positive thing.
"If it's going on and nothing is happening about it, that's much worse for the future of the sport.
"So, if it's happening, there should be the most severe punishments for whoever is involved."
He was backed by rival Novak Djokovic, who said he was saddened by the news.
"Very disappointing to hear, especially considering the fact that he's young and won the junior Grand Slam," said Djokovic, who is also in Doha.
"You know, obviously the quality is there and the potential is there.
"I don't understand why he has done it," he said, before adding: "Everyone makes mistakes."
Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal said the latest police case showed the fight against match-fixing is working.
"You get tired about this kind of stuff, but the most important thing is (to) fight against these kind of things," he told reporters at the Brisbane International tournament. "And he is young. That's the worst part."
BOMBSHELL ALLEGATIONS
On the eve of the Australian Open last year, there were bombshell media allegations that match-fixing was rife in tennis and the authorities had done little to counter corruption.
They included claims that players who had reached the top 50 had been repeatedly suspected of fixing matches but had never faced action.
It sparked an independent review headed by Adam Lewis QC, a London-based expert on sports law, aimed at shaking up the sport's under-fire anti-corruption body, the Tennis Integrity Unit.
In the wake of the revelations, Australian tennis authorities boosted measures to fight corruption.
They included having anti-corruption officers at all sanctioned events, a block on accessing gambling websites via public WiFi at tournaments, and bolstering its National Integrity Unit.
The Australian Open gets underway on Jan 16. - AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now