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Davydenko fined for 'lack of best effort' against Cilic

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko reacts during his St Petersburg Open clash against Croatia's Marian Cilic in St Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday. PHOTO: AP

Nikolay Davydenko, already at the center of a betting investigation, was fined US$2,000 for not trying hard enough during a loss at the St Petersburg Open.

The ATP said on Friday that the fourth-ranked Russian was fined for "lack of best effort" in Thursday's 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 defeat to Marin Cilic.

The top-seeded Davydenko won the first set in 27 minutes, but drew a rebuke from chair umpire Jean-Philippe Dercq in the third set.

"When I made a double fault, he gave me a notice for a wrong behavior on the court as if I was throwing the match," Davydenko told reporters on Thursday. "I was surprised. I've never heard anything like this before. No matter how I'd played, no matter what had happened to me, I was never given such a notice."

Davydenko said during the exchange Dercq asked him about his condition. Davydenko first said there was nothing wrong but later said the problem was in his legs.

"He could not solve my problem anyway, that's why I first told him I was OK, but I didn't play the way I did in the first set. That's why he gave me a notice," Davydenko said. "Later I told him that my legs had collapsed. I could not move."

The Russian double-faulted four times in the second set and six times in the third.

"I felt I wanted, but could not [win]," Davydenko said. "It really knocked me out and I lost my serve and the second set and psychologically I was no longer on the court."

The ATP is investigating, and has spoken to Davydenko about, a match in August in Poland on which online gambling site Betfair voided bets because of irregular betting patterns. Davydenko, who won the first set 6-1, withdrew against 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello in the third set because of a foot injury.

Davydenko is scheduled to play next week in the Paris Masters, where he is the defending champion.

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