Thursday, October 4, 2007

BUSINESS NEWS

Women’s Tour Comes Under Gambling Suspicion

For the first time a match on the women’s Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has come under suspicion in the on-going gambling debate after a dubious shift in betting during the Calcutta quarter-final between Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus and Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine last month.

A total $US1.5-million was wagered, on the contest and, just as in the currently investigated men’s match between Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello in Sopot, the on-line gambling exchange Betfair suspended business on the contest as well as informing the WTA Tour.

Like the ATP, the WTA Tour has a memorandum of understanding with Betfair and other online gambling companies.

"They [Betfair] suspended betting on the match but they did pay out," maintained WTA Tour president Stacey Allaster. "So it's very different than the Davydenko match. We were made aware by Betfair and provided with a report related to the match in question. We will investigate it but there is no reason to think there is any wrongdoing by the athlete, coach, sport-team member or anyone."

Betting-related matters have become a priority for a newly formed action group set up by the Grand Slam committee, ITF, ATP and WTA Tour. Allaster added: "Gambling is not going away as a societal institution. That's why it's important that we have agreements with multiple betting regulators."

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ATP Unveils New Tier of “500” Events For 2009

The ATP announced today ten cities that have been awarded “500” status for the new-look 2009 ATP Tour.  The ten are Rotterdam, Dubai, Acapulco, Memphis, Barcelona, Washington DC, Beijing, Tokyo, Basel and Valencia. In addition, Hamburg has been reserved a “500” level week. Between them, the ten announced today will make a financial commitment to the Tour of $20.7 million from 2009, an increase in prize money of 118% over 2008 for these events.
 
Offering 500 points for each champion, the “500” tournaments will create a global standard tier of premium tournaments and ensure a stronger broadcast and sponsor proposition from 2009.  Designed to complement the nine “1000” events and ATP World Tour Finals in London, the “500s” will be backed by a top player commitment to play four a year, including one “500” event post-US Open. 

The “1000” and “500” events will be strategically placed in the new calendar to ensure ‘swings’ of events leading into the sport’s five ‘pillars’ – the four Grand Slams and the ATP World Tour Finals.  In addition, post US Open, the calendar will be strengthened by an Asian swing of three weeks that will showcase the world’s best players at new tournaments - “Shanghai 1000”, and the Tokyo and Beijing “500’s”. This will be followed by an enhanced European indoor swing comprising of two new “500” events in Valencia and Basel as well as the Paris “1000”. The swing, and season, will conclude at the new look ATP World Tour Finals in London’s iconic O2 Arena.

Tennis fans will be able to follow these ‘swings’ both live and on TV via new Premium Tour packages.  Comprising of 20 premier events that will include “1000’s“, “500’s” , the ATP World Tour Finals and other key regional events, the packages will offer a far more attractive proposition and will be sold by ATP Media to all major global broadcasters.

Launching in 2009, the ATP Tour will undergo its largest set of changes since its creation in 1990. As well as new tournaments and a record breaking level of prize money, the ATP will also introduce a new brand look and identity based on extensive consumer research and designed to make the Tour more fan friendly by linking tournaments to their winners ranking point levels of either “1000”, “500” or “250”. 
   
Additional news from the ATP can be found at www.tennisnews.com

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Australian Open 2008 Has Bounced its Gambling Parlor

With gambling controversy popping up all over tennis, the Australian Open has eliminated its traditional onsite bookmaker for next year's edition.

"We have zero tolerance for gambling and we'll be providing additional security measures during the Australian Open to monitor the environment," said Tennis Australia boss Stephen Wood.

"We'll also not be having any gambling on-site, which we've had in the past. I just think it's the right move to have the right environment where we're not promoting gambling on-site."

The Tabcorp organization took the ban well, adding that turnover had dropped at Melbourne Park after the company's presence was downsized a few years back.

Meanwhile, various players continue to come forward to report approaches to throw matches, with Belgian Gilles Elseneer saying he was offered - and knocked back - $100,000 to lose at Wimbledon, 2005, against Italian Potito Starace.

Others who have reported various unsuccessful approaches include Novak Djokovic, Thomas Johansson and Jarkko Nieminen, the last two reported through Swedish media.

The ATP continues to probe the suspicious loss of Nikolay Davydenko last summer in Sopot, with online betting suspended on his match against Martin Vassallo Arguello when the Russian went down with a foot injury.

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Safin Has Cleared His Head and is Ready for Competition

Back from his mountain-climbing experience in the Himalayas, Marat Safin will attempt to get his feet back on the ground as he plays in the Kremlin Cup next week.

The two-time Grand Slam winner, who has not made a personal impression in a meaningful way on court since winning the 2005 Australian Open, has not played in a month since losing early at Flushing Meadows in Late August.

Safin's wildcard entry at home comes after he returned early from a mountain climbing expedition with a Russian expeditionary team designed to clear his head of demoralizing tennis thoughts.

"I felt like I needed to take my mind off tennis for a while," said the No. 27. "Hopefully this will be my year, although I can't make any promises."

Safin will be working to lift his game in time for the Davis Cup final against the US November 30-December 2 in Portland, Oregon.

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We Hear—

-- that Pete Sampras is looking for the first player for his company, Pure Sports Management, to represent. Interested parties be warned; he will be VERY picky.

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This Week’s Events

MEN
Metz
Tokyo

WOMEN
Stuttgart
Tashkent
Tokyo

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Next Week’s Events

MEN
Moscow
Stockholm
Vienna

WOMEN
Bangkok
Moscow

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Bob Larson’s Stock Report

Wednesday’s Stock Prices

Bob Larson Tennis Stock Index $161.91
* The index is based on the total value of one share of each stock we report daily.

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Results

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