Novak Djokovic recalled his own brush with match-fixing, as the start of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament was overshadowed by corruption allegations.
Djokovic started his bid for a sixth Australian Open title with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Chung Hyeon of South Korea on Monday, hours after the BBC and Buzzfeed News published reports alleging match-fixing had gone unchecked in tennis.
No players were identified in the reports, which alleged 16 players had been flagged repeatedly with tennis authorities but not sanctioned on suspicion of match fixing. Half of those are entered in the Australian Open, the reports said.
The governing bodies for the sport, and the Tennis Integrity Unit, issued a joint statement, read by ATP chairman Chris Kermode at a hastily-convened news conference at Melbourne Park.
Kermode said tennis authorities “absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match-fixing has been suppressed for any reason, or isn’t being investigated.”
Kermode said the integrity unit had been formed in 2008 as a joint initiative of the International Tennis Federation, the ATP, the WTA and the Grand Slam Board to combat corruption in the wake of the Sopot investigation.
He maintained that the unit investigates every report it receives and takes action only when it has enough evidence to do so. It has since sanctioned 18 people for match-fixing, including five players and one official who received lifetime bans. “You can have lots of information, lots of anecdotal reports, but it’s about getting evidence that we can use,” Kermode said.
Djokovic later responded to a question about an approach ahead of a tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2007.
“I was approached through people that were working with me at that time, that were with my team,” he said. “Of course, we threw it (the approach) away right away. It didn’t even get to me. The guy that was trying to talk to me, he didn’t even get to me directly. There was nothing out of it.
“Unfortunately there were some, in those times, those days, rumors, some talks, some people were going around. They were dealt with. In the last six, seven years, I haven’t heard anything similar.”
Sharapova advances
Maria Sharapova, who lost to Williams in the final here last year and could meet her again in the quarterfinals, showed no signs of a left forearm injury that curtailed her preparations when she beat Nao Hibino 6-1, 6-3 in a night match.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat Thai qualifier luksika Kumkhum.
Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska has moved into the second round at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Christina McHale of the United States.
A resurgent Eugenie Bouchard continued her injury comeback with a first-round win. The 37th-ranked Bouchard beat Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia 6-3, 6-4 to advance to a second-round matchup against No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska. Bouchard is playing in only her fourth tournament since sustaining a concussion when she fell in dressing room at last year’s US Open.
Former No.1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki is out of the Australian Open, losing 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 to Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. The 16th-seeded Wozniacki was up a service break in the second set. She received treatment on her right ankle during a medical time out in the third set.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wrapped up play on the first day of the Australian Open with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Marcos Baghdatis in a first-round match featuring two former finalists. No. 9-seeded Tsonga, who lost 2008 final to Novak Djokovic, improved his record to 6-0 in tour-level meetings with No. 48-ranked Baghdatis, who lost 2006 Australian Open final to Federer.
Yuki ousted
India’s Yuki Bhambri crashed out of the Australian Open men’s singles event after losing in straight sets to world number six Tomas Berdych in the opening round here on Monday.
Berdych kicked off his 50th consecutive Grand Slam in style, demolishing Yuki 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 in one hour and 45 minutes.