Corruption in sport tends to happen away from the spotlight and occur during lower level tournaments and games. In 2021 alone four players were handed lifetime bans from the sport with 26 coaches handed bans that totaled a whopping 183 years. But it is stunning that a player like Novak Djokovic could be met and offered $200,000 in a match-fixing bid in 2007, four years after turning pro.
Novak Djokovic revealed further details about the $200,000 offer during a joint investigation conducted by BuzzFeed News and the BBC. The investigation alleged that a core group of 16 players had repeatedly been reported for losing matches after suspicious bets were placed against them.
Novak Djokovic exposes match fixing offer
The world number one, Novak Djokovic was quizzed following claims of match-fixing in the sport during a joint investigation between the BBC and BuzzFeed News in 2016, according to Sportstar. The two media sources say no action has been taken against the players, who remain unnamed. There are multiple other allegations about the extent of the problem and the inaction of various tennis bodies.
Novak Djokovic was asked about the sensational report after reaching the second round with a comprehensive win over Hyeon Chung, “I was not approached directly. I was approached through people that were working with me at that time, that were with my team. Of course, we threw it away right away. It didn’t even get to me, the guy that was trying to talk to me, he didn’t even get to me directly. There was nothing out of it.”
“Unfortunately there were some, in those times, those days, rumours, some talk, some people were going around. They were dealt with. In the last six, seven years, I haven’t heard anything similar. It made me feel terrible because I don’t want to be anyhow linked to this kind of opportunity. For me, that’s a crime in sport honestly. I don’t support it. I think there is no room for it in any sport, especially in tennis.”
Novak Djokovic added that he would never have dreamt of taking a bung. “I always have been taught and have been surrounded with people that had nurtured and respected the sport’s values. That’s the way I’ve grown up. Fortunately for me, I didn’t need to get directly involved in these particular situations.”
The ATP didn’t do anything about the investigation but the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) was formed in 2021 to tackle ongoing corruption within the sport and has since then said to be on high alert over recent cases.
When did Djokovic win his first Grand Slam?
In June 2003, Novak Djokovic turned pro and secured his first professional title, beating Cesar Ferrer Victoria to win a small tournament in Serbia. In 2005, he earned his first win over a top-10 opponent.
In 2006, he reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, followed by his first semifinal appearance at the French Open in 2008. At the age of 20, he disrupted Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s streak of 11 consecutive major titles by winning his first major title at the Australian Open. His accomplishments have been slow but steady and have continued ever since.
In approximately 15 years since claiming his first Grand Slam title, Novak Djokovic has added 23 more to his collection. He secured his 24th Grand Slam title in New York by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the US Open. As Djokovic heads to the ATP Finals in Turin, there are hopes that he may add another title to his impressive list of achievements
