tennis and gambling

[Wynton]

Anyone following the recent tennis news?

Today's NYT has a story discussing ATP's efforts to combat gambling.

Among other things, the article recounts that:

"The players have volunteered their stories in the wake of an investigation of Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, the world’s No. 4 player, because of betting patterns during a loss in Poland in the summer. Mr. Davydenko, who has refused to turn over phone records, has since denied any wrongdoing."

Further, the article adds:

"Kris Dent, an ATP spokesman, also acknowledged that a “highly subjective” list of 140 suspicious matches dating from 2002 had been compiled by a European bookmaker and provided to investigators."

Most surprising to me, the article also said:

"At Betfair, which is based in London, tennis ranks third behind horse racing and soccer among its one million customers, who together place five million bets each day. More than $60 million was handled for the Wimbledon’s men’s final, won by Roger Federer over Rafael Nadal."

I had no idea that betting on tennis was so popular. Who'd a thunk it?