Tennis calls up match-fix investigator in bets probe

The Association of Tennis Professionals are sending a delegation from America for secret talks with Paul Scotney, director of security at the British Horseracing Authority.

This follows the ATP investigation into the highly suspicious betting patterns in last week's match involving world No 5 Nikolay Davydenko.

Scotney has extensive experience of 'in-running' betting - when one can back the participant to lose as well as win - as part of his clean-up job in racing.

Russian Davydenko pulled out with a foot injury during the deciding set of his second round match against Argentinian outsider Martin Vassallo Arguello, prompting online gaming company Betfair to refund all stakes. About £3.4million - around 10 times the expected amount - was wagered on the match at the Poland Open, with Davydenko's odds lengthening as he won the first set. Betfair decided that the betting was 'unfair'.

Scotney, a former Cambridgeshire police superintendent, has gained an excellent reputation within sport after spending four years cracking down on illegal practices among gamblers, jockeys and trainers.

The investigations in racing have involved forensic and complex tracking of such things as telephone records and bank accounts.

The most high-profile case he has been involved in features Kieren Fallon, who is currently banned from riding in Great Britain. Next month the former champion jockey will appear at the Old Bailey charged with conspiracy to defraud after a City of London Police investigation.

An ATP spokesman said: "We can confirm that a group of our officials will meet with Mr Scotney early next week. He is obviously someone with a lot of valuable experience in this area and we have always made it clear that we want to work with the best available people when looking into particular cases."

The spokesman emphasised that the meeting with Scotney would relate specifically to the Davydenko match.

But there seems little question that the sport, the popularity of which among punters worldwide has rocketed in recent years, faces a wider issue as well.

Meanwhile, Davydenko will play in Montreal today as the probe into irregular betting patterns continues. The ATP said that they had no plans to suspend the player or ask him to sit out the tournament.