Top ATP players accused of selling games at Wimbledon
Documents published by German tv channel ZDF on July 13 showed that some of Karatsev and Basilashvili's matches last season had unusually high stakes. The charges are against the former coach of both players, Yahor Yatysk. He is believed to have spent the money in exchange for Karatsev and Basilashvili losing at least two matches in 2021.
Karatsev, who climbed to the number 14 in the world in the beginning of this year, lost a suspicious battle at the Stuttgart Open last year. The Russian player and Jonathan Erlich guard the 4-6, 0-6 racket under the hands of Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov. In this match, the amount of money placed in Karatsev's loser was high.
The same match also took place in the men's doubles competition at Wimbledon in 2021, in which Basilashvili competed. Georgia tennis player and his partner Radu Albott lost to Fucsovics and Travaglia in the first round despite winning the first set. "$500,000 was placed in the loss of Basilashvili and Albot," the ZDF document states.
In addition to the ATP Tour matches, Karatsev also faces suspicion of fixing in five challenger matches that took place in 2019 and 2020. Head coach Yatisk is said to have dragged Karatsev into those settlements to provide financial support for the Russian player in amounts many times higher than the title prize.
"Yatysk looked everywhere for players with financial difficulties," one coach told ZDF on condition of anonymity. "He has known Karatsev and Basilashvili for decades. They are both talented, but they were lacking early in their careers. Yatisk always shows up when students need money."
Karatsev has yet to respond to ZDF's allegations, while Basilashvili told domestic media he would sue the television channel for defamation.
This is not the first time a Russian player has been involved in a match-fixing case. In the past, their legendary tennis player, Nikolay Davydenko, was investigated by the ATP for his involvement in multiple betting lines in Eastern Europe. ZDF confirmed that 135 players from 17 countries, some of them in the top 30 in the world, had fixed the scoreline.
