Melbourne: As match-fixing allegations rocked the tennis fraternity on Monday, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic made a shocking revelation saying he was approached to throw away a match early in his career.
Speaking to reporters in Melbourne after his win over South Korea's Chung Hyeon at the Australian Open, the Serb said he was asked in 2007 to throw away a first-round match at St Petersburg.
Djokovic said, "I was not approached directly. I was approached through people that were working with me at that time," he told reporters in Melbourne.
The Serb's comments came after BBC and BuzzFeed claimed 16 players who had reached the top 50 in the past decade, including Grand Slam champions, had been repeatedly suspected of fixing matches for betting syndicates.
The report prompted a swift denial from authorities that any evidence of match-fixing had been suppressed, as well as speculation over the identities of the players involved.
Djokovic was reportedly offered $200,000 to throw the match, in an incident which gives an insight into the murky world of match-fixing -- which the Serb called "a crime in sport".
(With Agency inputs)
