Nervous eyes on case over Federer bet

[dave nz]

THE game's authorities are keeping the closest of eyes on a legal case in which the billionaire chairman of IMG, Teddy Forstmann, is said to have wagered almost $US40,000 on Roger Federer to defeat Rafael Nadal in the 2007 French Open final.

Both players are clients of the world's most influential sports management company.

Forstmann is the highest of high-profile defendants in a lawsuit filed by Jim Agate, a former tennis-playing friend and owner of a printing company, in a claim for what are described as "gambling-connected tax losses".

Telephone records filed with the court in Los Angeles County provide clear evidence, Agate contends, that Forstmann placed a call to him the night before the French Open final after which he (Agate) called a Costa Rican betting service to place the bet.

Federer is appalled that his name has been dragged into a case that he insists he knows nothing about.

Tennis has become increasingly touchy about the perils and pitfalls of gambling since the Nikolay Davydenko affair, when the Russian's match against Martin Vassallo Arguello in Sopot, Poland, in 2007 prompted a $US7 million betting surge. An internal inquiry by the ATP cleared Arguello and Davydenko -- whose price after winning the first set drifted out rather than in before he retired because of injury in the third set -- of wrongdoing and led to the formation of the Tennis Integrity Unit.


The TIU is monitoring developments in the Forstmann case, which, because of his company's influential links with the sport in many areas -- client management and tournament ownership are to the fore -- is generating substantial interest as well as unnerving many people.

Among IMG's many listed clients are the All England Lawn Tennis Club, the United States Tennis Association and Tiger Woods.

Forstmann admitted to a writer for thedailybeast.com, an American website: "I might have called Roger (Federer) before the match but Roger is a buddy of mine and all I would be doing is wishing him luck. How is that insider information? Now somehow or another, I'm fixing the match."

Federer was surprisingly upbeat about his prospects of winning the French title for the first time that year. He had humbled Nadal in the final of the Masters event in Hamburg two weeks earlier and although he had not beaten him in their two previous meetings at Roland Garros, the Swiss felt he was in the perfect mood and form to win the clay-court grand-slam tournament for the first time.

However, Federer lost in four sets 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4.

Questioned about the case, Federer, the world No 2, said: "I would hope that it's obviously not true but because it involves my name somewhere out there, I know it's 100 per cent not true.

"I'm pretty relaxed about this because I'm for complete honesty in this sport, to leave the game better off than when I arrived, even though it was already a great platform I had.

"The last thing I would do is harm the sport or create a negative light on the sport. So it's disappointing that someone is throwing my name around. I would never do such a thing.

"My fans know that and the people who know me know that. I have nothing to hide. I'm sorry for those who think there is something to the story."

The allegations brought by Agate, who was also a one-time golfing associate of Forstmann and often travelled to Las Vegas with him, are that the man who replaced the late Mark McCormack as the head of IMG had a massive gambling habit, dipped into company funds to pay off losses, and that he bet both on and against his clients.

Forstmann has denied the allegations, describing Agate as a "stalker, shakedown artist and scumbag lowlife". But he did admit to betting on the 2007 French Open men's singles final.

Under TIU statutes, Forstmann would be considered a "Covered Person", what it categorises as "all players, related persons and tournament support personnel". In its listed corruption offences, the first is that: "No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, wager or attempt to wager on the outcome or any other aspect of any event or any other tennis competition."

The TIU has refused to comment.

[dave nz]

Its a breach of his contract plain and simple, therefore should be treated seriously.