Murray urges transp-arency
Andy Murray urged tennis authorities to be proactive in the fight against corruption after match-fixing claims hit the sport — and blasted a betting company’s sponsorship of the Australian Open. Murray said the fight against corruption must be transparent. “If there is corruption in any sport, you know, you want to hear about it,” said the world number two. “As a player you just want to be made aware of everything that’s going on. I think we deserve to know everything that’s sort of out there,” he added. “Some of it will be true, some of it might not be true. But I’m always very curious with that stuff across really all sports, as well. I think sports could in general be much, much more transparent.” Murray also took aim at organisers for allowing a betting company to sponsor this year’s Australian Open. “I don’t believe the players are allowed to be sponsored by betting companies but then the tournaments are. I don’t really understand how it all works. I think it’s a bit strange,” he said.
…while Tiley defends Aus Open
Tennis Australia’s Chief Executive Officer and Australian Open Tournament Director, Craig Tiley, came out in support of TIU and ATP in rejecting claims of suppressing match fixing. “The deliberate timing of this story is far from ideal for our event. But the important issue here is that we stamp out any form of corruption in tennis. That’s why, many years ago, Tennis Australia pushed hard for an all-sport response to this issue,” he said in a statement.
Couldn’t play to my potential: Yuki
New Delhi: Yuki Bhambri laments that he could not play to his true potential against world number six Tomas Berdych but his first round outing at the Australian Open has made him realise that he is not too far from the top lot in world tennis. “You always try hard but that was not the real reason for errors. But I wasn’t at all close to my potential,” Yuki said. Yuki felt that going straight into the tournament without a competitive match under his belt, following an injury lay- off, was a factor in his defeat.
Fan collapses needing attention
Play was halted during a dramatic moment in Bernard Tomic’s first-round match against Denis Istomin when a female spectator (in pic) required emergency medical treatment. People sitting nearby shouted for an EpiPen, which is used to treat life-threatening allergic reactions, and a fan in the upper part of Hisense Arena responded by tossing one to another spectator, starting a chain reaction of passes until it finally reached the woman in distress. Paramedics arrived within minutes of the woman being treated and she was helped into a wheelchair and escorted from the arena to a huge round of applause from the crowd. Tomic and Istomin looked on with concern before they were able to resume the match in the first game of the fourth set.
New test for Osaka: Japanese media
Naomi Osaka, an 18-year-old from Japan, faced a room overflowing with Japanese journalists after beating Donna Vekic in the first round. As is customary at news conferences at Melbourne Park, the moderator called for questions in English first. Osaka looked alarmed, then asked sheepishly, “English onlyIJ” She was serious — she is still learning Japanese. Off the courtIJ She wants to master Japanese. “I get really nervous when I hear, like it’s really fast, you know. Sometimes it sounds like they’re rapping so then I’m just like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t hear the first part of the question.’ Then I look like an idiot and I don’t want to look like an idiot.”