Novak Djokovic denies match-fixing claims, says 'it`s just absurd'

"The higher it goes, the more surprised I would be".

The player who hails from South America also stated that players who have won Grand Slams in the past are involved in match fixing and he was forced to believe this after one of the "fixers" told him the results of the next two tournaments well in advance and how the match would turn out.

He said it would remain speculation until there was "real proof and evidence".

The newspaper, citing documents from a prosecutors' investigation into match fixing, reported that Djokovic "voluntarily lost" the match against France's Fabrice Santoro.

"The Tennis Integrity Unit and tennis authorities absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match-fixing has been suppressed for any reason or isn't being thoroughly investigated", he said.

"What it is to say?" The Serb lost the showdown 6-3 6-2, and on Wednesday dismissed any rumours of match-fixing involvement.

Djokovic, 28, says the match has only been re-examined following a corruption investigation by the media.

It creates a powerful incentive to fix matches- something which is particularly easy to do in tennis, which has many poorly paid players and where it only takes one bribe to secure the desired outcome.

The sport was rocked by allegations this week that 16 players ranked in the world top 50 over the last decade were referred to the TIU due to suspicious activity.

"It's just absurd. You can pick any match that you like that the top player lost and just create a story out of it. It's just speculation. So I don't think there is a story about it", he said.

He said the approach never reached him as it was rejected by his team, but that it made him feel "terrible" and that match-fixing was a "crime in sport".

Williams was on course for a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 with wins here and at the French Open and Wimbledon before a semifinal loss at the U.S. Open to Roberta Vinci of Italy. I just don't think they will ever be a tennis player who is ever going to play on Rod Laver Arena.

Djokovic added on Wednesday that he had said all he wanted to about the corruption allegations and refused to discuss it any further, except to say that he was disappointed the sport was faced with questions about integrity.

The two issues are separate but have collided at this year's Australian Open, where tennis was overshadowed for a second day Tuesday by allegations that match-fixing has gone unchecked in tennis.

The controversy is just the latest to hit the tainted sports world after claims of a doping cover-up shook athletics and multiple scandals engulfed football's governing body, FIFA. "I was approached through people that were working with me at that time", he said. "As long as it's like that, it's just speculation".

“It’s the least I expect to be in the third round of a Slam, obviously, so I’m pumped up, playing well, feeling good, ” Federer said. "Whether you want to have betting companies involved in the big tournaments in our sport or not, it's hard to say what's right and what's wrong".

"But there's always a danger, you know".

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