Online betting gets di Mauro 9-month ban; betting on tennis matches

[The General]

Alessio di Mauro was suspended for nine months Saturday for betting on tennis matches, becoming the first player to be sanctioned under the ATP's new anti-corruption rules.

The 124th-ranked Italian was also fined $60,000 after being found guilty of making 120 bets with an online bookmaker from Nov. 2, 2006, to June 12 this year.

Di Mauro, who faced a maximum penalty of three years, is banned from Nov. 12 to Aug. 12, 2008.

The investigation found that none of the bets were on his matches or that any results were affected.

"This does underline our policy of players and staff wagering on tennis," ATP president Etienne de Villiers said. "If we do not have a sport with integrity, we do not have a sport.

"We recognized in 2003 the threat of online betting. We take this really seriously."

In 2003, the ATP signed an agreement with online betting company Betfair to share information on suspicious matches.

De Villiers said that a new rule requiring players to report any attempt to fix a match within 48 hours of being contacted will be passed at an ATP board meeting on Nov. 15.

The head of the ATP's new anti-corruption body will be selected from the three remaining candidates at the same board meeting.

"Do I believe we have a corruption problem? No, I don't," De Villiers said. "We will do anything we can to deal with this threat."

The 30-year-old Di Mauro has a 5-10 record this year and is 16-35 overall. He has earned $130,915 in prize money.

Di Mauro's season highlight was reaching the final of a clay-court tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in February after which the Sicilian reached a career-high ranking of No. 68.

Di Mauro's coach, Fabio Rizzo, told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport earlier this week that Di Mauro was an avid online gambler, but never bet on his own matches or cheated.

"He didn't know about the ban on players betting on their own sport and he also foolishly bet on tennis," Rizzo said. "But not on his own matches, and not even on tournaments he played in.

"And we're talking about very small figures -- $15-$22 at a time that Alessio bet on an online site, like many colleagues. He's always had a passion for betting on sports, mostly soccer."

Di Mauro banned for betting on tennis matches; first player sanctioned under new rules - Tennis - Yahoo! Sports

[The General]

Roger Federer backs bans for players who bet on matches!

World number one Roger Federer said on Saturday he supported bans for tennis players found guilty of betting on matches.

"When we talk about the gambling issue obviously that is one thing we are going to get to the core of," Federer told reporters on the eve of the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup.

"We are going to solve the issue. Honestly to bet on tennis as a tennis player I just don't think that's right. You should be fined or banned.

"How long? That's up to other people to decide but I think we should be very hard on these people."

Italy's Alessio Di Mauro on Saturday became the first tennis professional to be caught in a betting crackdown. He was banned for nine months for betting on other players' matches.

Tennis is going through troubled times. A match in August involving world number four Nikolay Davydenko was voided by British online betting exchange Betfair because of unusual betting patterns.

DAVYDENKO UNHAPPY

Several players have since acknowledged they had been offered money to throw matches and had turned it down.

"At the very top of the game we don't have problems," said Federer. "I think it's more low-ranked players maybe who do have the temptation."

The Swiss added: "I've never been approached, I've never been on a Web site. You can bet on other stuff -- there's enough other things you can do."

Davydenko, who was fined $2,000 last month for not trying hard enough during a match in St Petersburg, was still clearly unhappy on Saturday about being implicated in the betting controversy.

"It has been difficult," shrugged the Russian after investigators interviewed his wife and brother over allegations that the player had been involved in match-fixing.

"I asked my wife what questions she was asked and it just made me laugh," he added.

Federer backs bans for players who bet on matches - Tennis - Yahoo! Sports