zatoicchi
22.07.08, 02:31
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP)—Doubles specialists Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak, both coming off tournament titles, were suspended Monday by the ATP for betting on tennis matches.
Neither player wagered on his own matches, and an independent hearing officer found no evidence of any intent to affect the outcome of matches bet upon, the governing body of men’s tennis said.
Cermak, a Czech ranked 34th in doubles, was suspended for 10 weeks beginning Monday and fined $15,000. He’s ranked 34th in doubles and teamed with Rogier Wassen to win the doubles title Sunday at the Dutch Open.
Mertinak, a Slovak ranked 37th in doubles, was suspended for two weeks and fined $3,000. He teamed with Petr Pala to win the doubles Sunday at the Croatia Open.
Professional tennis has taken steps to combat gambling since an online betting site voided all bets on a match involving top-five player Nikolay Davydenko last year because of suspicious gambling patterns.
Five Italians have been suspended and fined for betting on tennis. Other players have come forward to say they were approached by people trying to influence a match.
Doubles specialists suspended for betting (http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=Am84O.89Azpp5ZZ28Q3g0dc4v7YF?slug=ap-tennisbetting&prov=ap&type=lgns)
Neither player wagered on his own matches, and an independent hearing officer found no evidence of any intent to affect the outcome of matches bet upon, the governing body of men’s tennis said.
Cermak, a Czech ranked 34th in doubles, was suspended for 10 weeks beginning Monday and fined $15,000. He’s ranked 34th in doubles and teamed with Rogier Wassen to win the doubles title Sunday at the Dutch Open.
Mertinak, a Slovak ranked 37th in doubles, was suspended for two weeks and fined $3,000. He teamed with Petr Pala to win the doubles Sunday at the Croatia Open.
Professional tennis has taken steps to combat gambling since an online betting site voided all bets on a match involving top-five player Nikolay Davydenko last year because of suspicious gambling patterns.
Five Italians have been suspended and fined for betting on tennis. Other players have come forward to say they were approached by people trying to influence a match.
Doubles specialists suspended for betting (http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=Am84O.89Azpp5ZZ28Q3g0dc4v7YF?slug=ap-tennisbetting&prov=ap&type=lgns)