Hitting out against players involved in match-fixing, tennis star Roger Federer has called for severe penalties for any player involved in the scandal. After his 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Federer urged the sport’s governing bodies to show no mercy if any cheating of the system can be proven. “We should have massive bans on those who get caught so they get really scared of doing it,” he said. Federer was speaking after it emerged that on-line bookmaker Betfair alerted the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) after 700,000 pounds was gambled on the first-round contest in which Austrian No.26 seed Jurgen Melzer beat American Wayne Odesnik by three sets to love. Some bookmakers suspended betting on the match as the wagers... [read full story]
