After a sports summer rocked by a gambling scandal involving the former N.B.A. referee Tim Donaghy and a betting investigation involving a match played by the fourth-ranked men’s tennis player Nikolay Davydenko, the United States Tennis Association has hired a consulting firm to detect and monitor potential gambling activity at the United States Open.
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News, features and discussion of the 2007 U.S. Open from The New York Times.
The firm of SafirRosetti, run by Howard Safir, a former city police commissioner, has begun work at the Billie Jean King United States National Tennis Center, the site of the Open.
Besides monitoring areas throughout the grounds — included those restricted to players, their entourages and medical personnel — the firm will try to keep tabs on all betting activity surrounding the Open.
“There is absolutely no reason that we know of where we suspect the nature of any betting as it relates to the U.S. Open,” Arlen Kantarian, chief executive of professional tennis for the U.S.T.A., said yesterday in a telephone interview. “But I think it is incumbent on all of us to take a keener look on how we approach these policies.”
Kantarian added that SafirRosetti would not be conducting interviews or an investigation.
Gambling is prohibited under rules governing the Grand Slam tournaments, and any player found in violation would be subject to a fine of up to $100,000 or the forfeiture of prize money won, whichever is greater. Players could also be suspended for up to three years from Grand Slam events.
Players are also subject to separate sanctions by the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour. The men’s and women’s Tours each have sanctions as stiff as a lifetime ban for fixing matches.
At the Open, Kantarian said the U.S.T.A. will provide a toll-free number that any trainer, player or associate can call anonymously if they have information on gambling infractions.
Signs will be posted in the locker rooms displaying the Open’s zero-tolerance policy on gambling for players, medical personnel, trainers, therapists, service contractors and members of the news media.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Safir said the U.S.T.A. contacted his company shortly after the N.B.A. acknowledged that Donaghy had been under investigation by the F.B.I., but before the ATP Tour began investigating a match that Davydenko forfeited in Poland on Aug. 2 that was the object of suspicious betting activity.
“I think everybody is sensitive after the N.B.A. affair, and although it’s rare that there is betting on tennis in this country, we have the expertise to monitor it from an off-site and on-site standpoint,” Safir said.
Donaghy pleaded guilty last week to two felonies, acknowledging that he supplied privileged information to illegal gambling outlets and had been betting on games for four years.
Davydenko, who is seeded fourth at the Open, has not been suspended during the ATP’s investigation and has denied gambling or fixing the match, saying he was legitimately injured.
The match took place Aug. 2 at the Prokom Open in Sposot, Poland. Davydenko won the first set, 6-2, over the 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina. But he lost the second set, 6-3, and, retired in the third while trailing by 2-1 because of a foot injury.
For the first time, Betfair, a London-based online betting exchange, suspended bets because of unusually high activity during the match, reportedly $7 million (10 times the usual amount), with a majority in favor of Arguello.
The ATP Tour’s chief executive, Étienne de Villiers, announced an internal investigation earlier this month.
The U.S.T.A. is in discussions with all the governing bodies of tennis to create a unified anti-gambling program. Larry Scott, the chief executive of the WTA Tour, said he supported the U.S.T.A.’s efforts on the issue at the Open.
“I applaud the U.S.T.A. for treating this area with the utmost seriousness, and working to put in place additional measures to ensure that the integrity of our sport is preserved,” Scott said yesterday in an e-mail message. “We are actively discussing the details of these measures with the U.S.T.A, and will be discussing them with our players this coming weekend.”
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Skip to next paragraph
News, features and discussion of the 2007 U.S. Open from The New York Times.
The firm of SafirRosetti, run by Howard Safir, a former city police commissioner, has begun work at the Billie Jean King United States National Tennis Center, the site of the Open.
Besides monitoring areas throughout the grounds — included those restricted to players, their entourages and medical personnel — the firm will try to keep tabs on all betting activity surrounding the Open.
“There is absolutely no reason that we know of where we suspect the nature of any betting as it relates to the U.S. Open,” Arlen Kantarian, chief executive of professional tennis for the U.S.T.A., said yesterday in a telephone interview. “But I think it is incumbent on all of us to take a keener look on how we approach these policies.”
Kantarian added that SafirRosetti would not be conducting interviews or an investigation.
Gambling is prohibited under rules governing the Grand Slam tournaments, and any player found in violation would be subject to a fine of up to $100,000 or the forfeiture of prize money won, whichever is greater. Players could also be suspended for up to three years from Grand Slam events.
Players are also subject to separate sanctions by the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour. The men’s and women’s Tours each have sanctions as stiff as a lifetime ban for fixing matches.
At the Open, Kantarian said the U.S.T.A. will provide a toll-free number that any trainer, player or associate can call anonymously if they have information on gambling infractions.
Signs will be posted in the locker rooms displaying the Open’s zero-tolerance policy on gambling for players, medical personnel, trainers, therapists, service contractors and members of the news media.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Safir said the U.S.T.A. contacted his company shortly after the N.B.A. acknowledged that Donaghy had been under investigation by the F.B.I., but before the ATP Tour began investigating a match that Davydenko forfeited in Poland on Aug. 2 that was the object of suspicious betting activity.
“I think everybody is sensitive after the N.B.A. affair, and although it’s rare that there is betting on tennis in this country, we have the expertise to monitor it from an off-site and on-site standpoint,” Safir said.
Donaghy pleaded guilty last week to two felonies, acknowledging that he supplied privileged information to illegal gambling outlets and had been betting on games for four years.
Davydenko, who is seeded fourth at the Open, has not been suspended during the ATP’s investigation and has denied gambling or fixing the match, saying he was legitimately injured.
The match took place Aug. 2 at the Prokom Open in Sposot, Poland. Davydenko won the first set, 6-2, over the 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina. But he lost the second set, 6-3, and, retired in the third while trailing by 2-1 because of a foot injury.
For the first time, Betfair, a London-based online betting exchange, suspended bets because of unusually high activity during the match, reportedly $7 million (10 times the usual amount), with a majority in favor of Arguello.
The ATP Tour’s chief executive, Étienne de Villiers, announced an internal investigation earlier this month.
The U.S.T.A. is in discussions with all the governing bodies of tennis to create a unified anti-gambling program. Larry Scott, the chief executive of the WTA Tour, said he supported the U.S.T.A.’s efforts on the issue at the Open.
“I applaud the U.S.T.A. for treating this area with the utmost seriousness, and working to put in place additional measures to ensure that the integrity of our sport is preserved,” Scott said yesterday in an e-mail message. “We are actively discussing the details of these measures with the U.S.T.A, and will be discussing them with our players this coming weekend.”
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