Vassallo Arguello in Another Tennis Betting Scandal at Monte Carlo?
Posted on April 15, 2009Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello may be involved in yet another match-fixing scandal after a first-round match in Monte Carlo this week.
Vassallo Arguello, ranked No. 69 in the world, was rated as the favorite in internet betting for some reason over No. 21-ranked Igor Andreev -- and even after Vassallo Arguello had lost the first set 6-2, he was the favorite in continued betting.
"Despite winning the first set convincingly, Andreev's odds on Betfair were listed at $2.10, or 10/9, an unbelievable price considering he was the higher-ranked player and had already gone one set ahead," wrote Crikey.com.
At 5-4, 40-0, Andreev has three match points on serve.
"At this point, Betfair was betting $25.0 or $26.0 on Vassallo Arguello -- in layman's terms, that means the Argentine was available at 25/1 and there were takers at this price even though realistically, in such a dire predicament, he should have been at 250/1 or longer," wrote Crikey.com.
Vassallo Arguello came back to force a second-set tiebreak, where Andreev threw in two double faults to eventually drop the match.
In the third set, Vassallo Arguello easily ran out the win 6-2.
Vassallo Arguello was involved in the infamous match in Poland in late 2007 against Russian Nikolay Davydenko, winning when the Russian retired in the third set with a foot injury, with millions wagered on Vassallo Arguello.
"There may be an innocent explanation for the betting trends, and perhaps the result was no more than a neat coincidence," Crikey.com said of the match. "But one wonders what the ATP made of it, and whether their crack anti-corruption squad will swing into action any time soon."
Vassallo Arguello, ranked No. 69 in the world, was rated as the favorite in internet betting for some reason over No. 21-ranked Igor Andreev -- and even after Vassallo Arguello had lost the first set 6-2, he was the favorite in continued betting.
"Despite winning the first set convincingly, Andreev's odds on Betfair were listed at $2.10, or 10/9, an unbelievable price considering he was the higher-ranked player and had already gone one set ahead," wrote Crikey.com.
At 5-4, 40-0, Andreev has three match points on serve.
"At this point, Betfair was betting $25.0 or $26.0 on Vassallo Arguello -- in layman's terms, that means the Argentine was available at 25/1 and there were takers at this price even though realistically, in such a dire predicament, he should have been at 250/1 or longer," wrote Crikey.com.
Vassallo Arguello came back to force a second-set tiebreak, where Andreev threw in two double faults to eventually drop the match.
In the third set, Vassallo Arguello easily ran out the win 6-2.
Vassallo Arguello was involved in the infamous match in Poland in late 2007 against Russian Nikolay Davydenko, winning when the Russian retired in the third set with a foot injury, with millions wagered on Vassallo Arguello.
"There may be an innocent explanation for the betting trends, and perhaps the result was no more than a neat coincidence," Crikey.com said of the match. "But one wonders what the ATP made of it, and whether their crack anti-corruption squad will swing into action any time soon."