Scandals in professional sports are becoming as common as the cold it seems. Recently, professional tennis has been abuzz with a possible scandal brewing. Number 5 in the world, Nicolay Davydenko has been under the microscope since a suspicious betting incident on August 2nd. Davydenko, seeded 4th in the tournament, played the 73rd ranked player in the world, Martin Vassallo Arguello. Most bets placed on tennis matches go unnoticed, but what made this one odd, was most of the $7 million in bets were placed on Arguello, after Davydenko had already won the first set. Davydenko eventually retired from the match citing a nagging toe injury. Since the investigation has begun, the bets have been canceled, and the money has been returned. It's too early to say whether or not Davydenko was aware of the betting and if he fixed the match. Time will tell if he fixed it or not, but here are reasons why he may or may not have.
Davydenko possibly fixed the match:
• the disparities in their world rankings (#5 vs. #73)
• most of the $7 million in bets came after he was already winning the match
• despite the injury, he is continuing to play tournaments without resting
• the amount of ATP players being asked to fix matches
• other Russian tennis players were photographed with a suspected Russian mobster
Davydenko unlikely fixed the match:
• he is #4 in the world, and has too much to lose if caught fixing matches
• he has been having foot problems, which were noticeable during the match
• despite the foot problem, he was noticeably trying to win the match
• he has been struggling in the early rounds of tournaments lately
• he truly seemed stunned when word got out regarding the investigation
• Davydenko was not one of those photographed with the suspected mobster
Only time will tell, but I truly hope he isn't involved, and I don't think he is. I am not however stunned by the fact that many players and judges are asked to fix the games.
4 comments:
It is so odd to me that people think this sort of thing is ok. Pete Rose was banned from baseball for betting on games, why don't others think the same could happen to them? It seems as if the money they may win will be more rewarding to them than keeping their career or their reputation.
I think that once athletes get to a certain point in their careers with money and fame they are used to getting everything they want, and will do whatever it takes to maintain that lifestyle. Obviously the punishments that have been given to others associated with athletics and scandals have not deterred people from making bad decisions. I am so tired of hearing about people betting on and throwing games. Don't they already have enough privilege in their lives?
Davydenko may be #5, but he's really had to work hard to get there. He plays the most tournaments out of anyone, but a long stretch. That's how he's accumulated so many points. He doesn't seem to care about the money or fame. Like I mentioned in the blog, I really don't think he did it, although I do think other players may have. I feel that there will be serious consequences if caught though. It's also hard to say, since tennis is relatively easy to fix without anyone noticing. Literally, three points in the match could make all the difference in winning and losing.
In a perfect world I want to believe that his opponent retired the match due to legitimate reasons, but since this has been a summer of scandal for all sports, it just might be what we think. I don't think that someone who is ranked 4th really needs to fix matches anyway, at least not for the money, but I guess the only thing better than having money is getting more.
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