Australian Open: Novak Djokovic forced to deny he lost 2007 match deliberately

World No1 says a report that he deliberately lost a match against Fabrice Santoro nine years ago is 'absurd'

(GETTY IMAGES)

Novak Djokovic branded as ‘absurd’ reports in an Italian newspaper that he deliberately lost a match against Fabrice Santoro at the 2007 Paris Masters.

The world No1 swept into the third round of the Australian Open before being forced to deny any involvement in the tennis match-fixing scandal that has dogged the first three days of the grand slam.

The Serbian defending champion defeated French teenager Quentin Halys at the Rod Laver Arena 6-1, 6-2, 7-6(3) but enjoyed a less comfortable ride in the post-match media conference.

Alerted to a story in an Italian newspaper suggesting his loss to now-retired French player Santoro was fixed, the 28-year-old denied it point blank.

“It’s not true,” he said when told he had been accused of deliberately losing. “What it is to say? I’ve lost that match.

“Anybody can create a story about that match or for that matter any of the matches of the top players losing in the early rounds, I think it's just absurd.”

Before the media conference, the last of the day, it had appeared the reverberations from Monday's media reports alleging numerous top-50 players had been flagged up for possibly throwing matches but not investigated by the tennis authorities, were fading.