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Wagers draw attention, but that's
ESPN.com news services
WIMBLEDON, England -- Wagering on a Wimbledon match soared after a TV commentator pointed out that one of the players was injured.
The British bookmaker, Betfair, alerted tennis corruption investigators about unusual betting patterns for the first-round match Tuesday between 109th-ranked Wayne Odesnik of the United States and 30th-ranked Jurgen Melzer of Austria but did not suspect any wrongdoing, spokesman Mark Davies said on Wednesday.
Davies said Betfair received more than six times as many wagers as it would normally receive for such a match. Melzer's odds "shortened significantly," Davies said, after a TV announcer noted shortly before the match that Odesnik had a thigh injury. Melzer won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
Betfair received about $980,000 in wagers on the match, Davies said. The average for a first-round match at Wimbledon is less than $163,000.
"It's being reported as potential corruption, but I don't see it that way at all," Davies told The Associated Press. "I doubt that there was any wrongdoing."
Still, Betfair reported the heavy betting to the International Tennis Federation's integrity unit.
ESPN.com news services
WIMBLEDON, England -- Wagering on a Wimbledon match soared after a TV commentator pointed out that one of the players was injured.
The British bookmaker, Betfair, alerted tennis corruption investigators about unusual betting patterns for the first-round match Tuesday between 109th-ranked Wayne Odesnik of the United States and 30th-ranked Jurgen Melzer of Austria but did not suspect any wrongdoing, spokesman Mark Davies said on Wednesday.
Davies said Betfair received more than six times as many wagers as it would normally receive for such a match. Melzer's odds "shortened significantly," Davies said, after a TV announcer noted shortly before the match that Odesnik had a thigh injury. Melzer won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
Betfair received about $980,000 in wagers on the match, Davies said. The average for a first-round match at Wimbledon is less than $163,000.
"It's being reported as potential corruption, but I don't see it that way at all," Davies told The Associated Press. "I doubt that there was any wrongdoing."
Still, Betfair reported the heavy betting to the International Tennis Federation's integrity unit.
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