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Davydenko rubbishes mafia talk
18/01/2008 10:34 - (SA)
Melbourne - Nikolay Davydenko has again defended himself against suggestions he threw a tennis match last year, and rubbished talk that he had links with the Russian mafia.
The Association of Tennis Professionals is looking into his match with Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello in Poland last August after an online betting agency voided all wagers because of suspicious betting patterns.
Vassallo Arguello won after losing the first set when Davydenko retired in the third set with an injury.
Davydenko, who progressed to the Australian Open fourth round on Friday with a straight sets victory over Frenchman Marc Gicquel, maintains he couldn't play on with a stress fracture of the foot.
"I had an examination straight after and (received treatment) for pain relief," he told reporters on Friday. "Injury retirements happen in matches.
"It's stupid because I'm a top player and I have enough money from prize money and winning tournaments.
'It's pretty tough'
"Why (do) I now need to (throw a match for money)? It's impossible.
"I have tournaments every week and I try every match for possibly two or three hours on court to try to make money like this, not like that (match-fixing).
"Everybody is thinking I'm a bad guy. It's pretty tough to say every week to the people 'you know, I didn't do anything wrong'."
Vassallo Arguello told a Melbourne newspaper this week that there was nothing untoward in his match against Davydenko.
Davydenko said suggestions he was linked with the Russian mafia were "like something out of a movie", adding that he was relatively unknown in his home country and that his only ties were his parents who live in a tiny town.
"Around me, I have only my wife, my brother, doctor, family, physio ... but I have no mafia around," he said.
"I never even had Russian sponsors because I moved to Germany early and nobody knows about me in Russia.
"I spent no time in Russia. I have no friends to contact in Russia. How can I be involved with Russian mafia if I'm in Germany. The Russian mafia should come to Germany to see me? It's not possible, no.
"In Russia, I don't have any pressure from anyone, not from the Russian Federation because I've never been with them.
"I don't need to pay back money to anyone. I make my own money and play for myself. I have no pressures. I have no credit to give to anyone. I'm free."
- AFP
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