Probe starts into alleged match-fixing at French Open tennis

Paris, Oct 8 (IANS) Authorities in France have opened police investigations into alleged match-fixing in a women's doubles tennis match at the French Open. The match in question was a first round tie between Romanian Andreea Mitu and Patricia Mari against Russia's Yana Sizikova and Unite States' Madison Brengle.According to French sports daily L'Equipe and German newspaper Die Welt, an unusually large amount of money were placed from several countries across several operators in Paris on the Romanians winning the fifth game in the second set of the match. Sizikova served two double faults as the Romanians won the game by love. They went on to win the match 7-6, 6-4. While cases of fixing are rare at the highest level of the sport, the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) has announced six lifetime bans and suspensions in 2020. In its most high profile case, the TIU suspended Argentine tennis player Nicolas Kicker for six years -- three years of it suspended -- and fined him US $25,000 ($34,970) for match-fixing and other offences in 2018.
--IANS rkm/qma