Davydenko denies wrongdoing

Russian tennis player Nikolay Davydenko serves in a practice session in Melbourne yesterday on the eve of the Australian Open. PHOTO: AFP

World No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko has again denied he has ever been approached to throw a match and questioned claims by some players that they had been offered money to fix results.

The Russian remains at the center of an investigation into a betting scandal following his defeat by Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello at the Sopot Open last August.

He was involved in two other controversies later in the season, when umpires questioned his efforts at the St Petersburg and Paris ATP events.

But he told the Sunday Age newspaper here that he had done nothing wrong.

"Everything that is written is not true," he said. "I am clean and I am still playing tournaments and I try my best, try to win my matches."

"In the press I am like the bad guy, not nice guy or good guy," he said.

He also questioned claims by fellow players that they had been approached to influence results, or had heard about such approaches.

"I cannot believe these guys," Davydenko said. "I think these guys try to be clean. They try to say `somebody is asking me [to tank], but I say no, so I have nothing to do with it.' People try to be some nice guy for the press, or for the people."

In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Davydenko said he was angry at his treatment by the ATP since the betting affair emerged, claiming he was being victimized because they wanted him out of the world's top 10.

"Maybe they just found one tennis player who they want to remove from the world's top 10?," he told the broadcaster. "Maybe there is someone below me in the rankings who is more popular and they want to increase his popularity?"

According to the BBC, the ATP requested Davydenko's phone records last autumn.

He initially refused to hand them over, but did comply last month.

Now ATP investigators reportedly want the phone records of Davydenko's wife, Irina, and his brother and coach Eduard.

The duo have been given a deadline of 15 business days after Davydenko's last match at the Australian Open, the BBC said.

ATP chief executive Etienne de Villiers called Davydenko's claims of being victimized "fanciful" and said it was irregular betting patterns that were being investigated and not an individual player.

"We are not investigating either player -- we've never ever said this is about Davydenko or Arguello," De Villiers told the BBC. "We said this is about an irregular betting pattern and we need to get to the bottom of it."