Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience
I don't know. I wouldn't have thought so but that last dubious one, the one with the retirement, looked decidedly dodgy in view of the betting patterns.
That doesn't always mean fixing though, just a leakage of some inside knowledge. . .
But I would say that the balance of evidence would suggest that it was fixed as why else would people be betting millions on Vassallo when he has lost the first set 6-2 (it's the retirement that confuses the issue, as some bookmakers void the match, but it does make the dramatic turn around have a reason behind it)
From the same week though, there were 5 other matches that were fixed (or seem to be), them being Economidis vs. Klizan, Vassallo vs. Schukin, Goldstein vs. Garica, Vanek vs. Whitehouse and Volandri vs. Przyenisky which haven't been picked up by the media as they don't involve a top player, but these were more obvious, as people were giving out information that the match was a fix before the match had began (and hours beforehand atg that)
If you're looking for odd patterns in matches, you have to look no further than our own Mr A Murray, who last weekend bagelled Robredo in the first set but still managed to lose. But of course that doesn't mean the match was fixed.
Still I did find it ironic that he was complaining about match fixing imediately after what was an odd match.
Wondering how Murray will be received in the changing rooms after his comments. Nadal and Djokovic (through agent) have both refuted claims. Will he regret speaking out?
The comments that I made with regard to betting in tennis have been taken out of context and I would like to clarify them. When I said everyone knows that its going on I meant that everyone has probably heard that three or four players have spoken out about being offered money to lose matches - which they refused. I am glad that the tennis governing bodies are coming together to set up an anti-corruption unit to address this and I stand fully behind this effort. Tennis has been a part of my entire life and it is a privilege to compete at the highest levels of the sport.
Andy Murray was accused last night of being corrupt by Nikolay Davydenko, the Russian player at the centre of the match-fixing scandal that has engulfed the sport. The world No 4 was reacting to comments made by Murray this week in which the British No 1 said that everyone knows it [match-fixing] goes on.
"If Murray says that he knows, that means that he gambles himself, Davydenko said after reaching the quarter-finals of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Because people who start talking out loud have their fears disappear. And they know that if they speak out loud, it means that they are free, they have not done it.
Since Murray was describing in detail how it goes on, it means he went deep into it. As if he was never involved, but he knows how it works in detail. It was folly of him to say this."
Is Davydenko out of his tiny mind? You don't have to be personally involved to know about something. For goodness' sake, Arvind Parmar, Giles Elseneer, Paul Goldstein have all said they have been approached to lose matches.
If I were Andy I would sue him.
I don't know if Davydenko is guilty of match-fixing but I certainly know he is guilty of crass stupidity.
That's madness, for a start none of the comments I've read from Andy go into that much detail. Secondly the minute you start acusing people specifically things turn sour. Watch out either for accusations to start flying or the players to start to choose sides. It's going to be ugly either way
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To look at a thing is quite different from seeing a thing and one does not see anything until one sees its beauty
I think Davydenko's comments might be a case of the man doth protesteth too much. It wouldn't surprise me if he was possibly trying to cover something up - especially after his sudden withdrawal from Madrid just as Andy is due to meet the ATP.