A French Open first round qualifying match is suspected by the authorities of having been fixed, as reported by L’Equipe.
The match between Bernabe Zapata Miralles and Dudi Sela was reportedly subject to a high number of bets. Miralles won the encounter 6-3, 6-0 on Monday.
The accusations focus specifically on the second set between the Spaniard Miralles and the Israeli Sela. The second set was complete in just 16 minutes, with Sela currently under the spotlight for his potential role in the loss. The entire match lasted under one hour.
No investigation has been opened, but there were reportedly a large number of online bets from three operators located in Cyprus, Armenia and Ukraine.
Mirallas is currently ranked 133rd in the men’s tennis world rankings, with Sela ranked 456th. The latter, who is 37, has since left Paris. The former meanwhile has landed a place in the French Open first round proper after overcoming Italian Luca Nardi on Thursday.
Earlier this year, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported 42 cases of suspicious betting to the relevant authorities during the first quarter of 2022, with tennis reporting the highest number of cases. The sport had 14 in the period, followed by football and table tennis with 10 each.
The Roland Garros reports aren’t the only stories of match-fixing in sport this week, with a total of 10 people arrested in Ireland on Wednesday morning, as part of an investigation into alleged match-fixing in connection with football matches in the League of Ireland.
