Alexandr Dolgopolov showed major bite in his US Open march, while continuing to be dogged by questions over gambling allegations.
In a convincing dissection, Dolgopolov chewed up Viktor Troicki, 6-1, 6-0, 6-4, charging into the US Open fourth round for the first time in six years.
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Dolgopolov backed up his second-round upset of 15th-seeded Tomas Berdych with a performance he called “unbelievable” setting up a potential fourth-round clash with world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the process.
“It's one of my best matches lately,” Dolgopolov said.
It’s not even close to his most analyzed match.
World No. 114 Thiago Monteiro defeated Dolgopolov, 6-3, 6-3, in the opening round of Winston-Salem last month.
Monteiro was initially listed as a 3-1 underdog.
But before the match began those odds flipped making him the favorite due to a high activity of bets placed on the Brazilian.
It all prompted the Tennis Integrity Unit, which investigates corruption in the sport, to take the rare step of announcing it was investigating Dolgopolov’s opening-round loss in Winston-Salem hours after the match was completed.
Asked today if gambling has influenced match outcomes, Dolgopolov answered “it’s not for me to say.”
“I don't think about that. I'm not the person that should comment about that,” Dolgopolov said. “I mean, you cannot be perfect every week, I think. So, for sure, you can see bad matches, players playing bad. But if there is gambling involved, it's not for me to say.”
Dolgopolov said he spoke to Tennis Integrity Unit officials upon his arrival in New York.
“Yeah. Straight after I came here, I wasn't happy with what's going on in the press, so I was the first one to come there and try to give them all the information so they can investigate it faster,” Dolgopolov said.
The 28-year-old Ukrainian says he doesn’t know the status of the ongoing investigation.
“I don't know. I don't ask,” Dolgopolov said. “They asked me about some information. They interviewed me. That's it. That's all I can do.”
Bookmaker Pinnacle, which reported the suspicious betting patterns on Dolgopolov’s defeat, told New York Times writer Ben Rothenberg that match was the second suspicious outcome of the day coinciding with Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko’s straight-sets loss in the WTA’s New Haven qualifying event.
“It is extremely rare for so many accounts that have wagered on suspicious matches in the past to come in and play the same game,” Sam Gomersall, the sports integrity manager for Pinnacle told the New York Times. “I am unable to recall any match in recent history where so many of them have lined up on the same side.”
Dolgopolov called allegations of match fixing “fairy tales” in a post-match interview last week.
“You’re going now to the statistics and saying that it might be fixed because there is a market?” Dolgopolov said. “You’re writing news or fairy tales? So for me, it’s like I don’t even want to talk about it. I talked to the TIU; I respect their work.
"I gave all the information needed, and at the end of the day what’s going to happen is: I’m not involved in anything.”
Previously, Dolgopolov received a letter from the TIU in 2010.
However, he has never been charged or censured by the TIU.
And he’s grown tired of answering questions about the Unit’s investigation.
Peppered with a series of questions on the topic today, Dolgopolov referred the media to his initial statement and said he won't be discussing the issue further.
Dolgopolov said the ongoing investigation and continued questions have not been a major distraction.
"Not much. You can see I'm playing," he said. "I'm fit. I'm doing well. Obviously it's disappointing, but not more. If people want to write something, they write something. You can't stop them from doing it. It's just not under my control."
Photo credit: Western & Southern Open