Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has revealed he was offered $200,000 (€180,000 approx) to throw a match in 2007.
The World Number One won his first Grand Slam title the following year and spent over half of 2007 inside the World's top ten. He was speaking to the press in Melbourne earlier today after a report by the BBC and BuzzFeed News was released into alleged match-fixing in tennis.
"I was approached through people that were working with me at that time, that were with my team", Djokovic revealed after his straight-sets win over Korean Chung Hyeon. “Somebody may call it an opportunity. For me, that’s an act of un-sportsmanship, a crime in sport honestly."
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Investigations Reporter with the BBC Simon Cox said it was easy for criminals to make contact with players to try and tempt them into throwing a game. "Players in the top-50 who are going around to lots of tournaments, you can obviously get to them at the hotel. You can maybe socialise with them if they are partying. There are ways of getting to them."
Djokovic will play Quentin Halys in the second round.
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