“You sit down and see the people betting next to you,” Marco Trungelliti accuses ITF of neglecting match-fixing and making players ‘star of the circus’

Marco Trungelliti has claimed that there is still one game per day that is fixed.

“You sit down and see the people betting next to you,” Marco Trungelliti accuses ITF of neglecting match-fixing and making players ‘star of the circus’

Marco Trungelliti (Image via Roland Garros)

Argentine tennis player Marco Trungelliti has made a huge claim about match-fixing on the tennis circuit. Trungelliti, who himself was once contacted for match-fixing, claimed that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) is ignorant about fixing in the sport. The Argentine also talked about the plight of the players on the Future Tours while claiming that they are made the ‘stars of the circus’ being run by the fixers.

Trungelliti said that there is still one match in a day which is fixed. While he had no evidence to back his claim, the Argentine said that anyone sitting there and watching the matches for a few hours would understand that they are rigged. The 33-year-old said that there are people in the stands who are betting while others just sit and watch the game.

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“The Futures players are completely helpless. The level in Challenger has improved a little, but it is still far away, the figures do not work. But Futures are not viable. At least one match per day is fixed. I don’t have proof of this, but if you attend a Futures tournament for a few hours you will have all the visual evidence to see it,” said Trungelliti to La Nacion.

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“You sit down and see the people betting next to you. As a player, you are the star of the circus and you have to pay for everything: food, hotel, transport. It’s strange how everything is put together.” Trungelliti further claimed that while the focus is on the players, a lot of coaches are also involved and then also called for ATP to take action if they really want to improve things.

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Marco Trungelliti talks about the role of Big 3 in helping other players on the tour

The Argentine player also talked about the difficulties players face in the early stages of their careers. Marco Trungelliti then talked about the role of the Big 3 in the betterment of the sport and reducing inequality in tennis. The 33-year-old blasted Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for failing to create a positive impact while hailing Novak Djokovic for helping players through the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA).

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Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal (Image via Open Source)

“I think it is indispensable. People may not like it, but Federer and Nadal never said anything. Whether you like it or not, they are complicit in how bad the system is, because they were not able to open their mouths even once and fight for the rights of the players.”

“As players, they can be very good, but as humans trying to improve the system in general, they seem very poor to me. This is what Djokovic and [Vasek] Pospisil are doing today as well. Plus, all that work at the PTPA takes up time and energy,” the Argentine said.

Trungelliti, while pointing out the financial plight of players outside the top 100, said that Federer not working for this cause hurt him big time. The Argentine feels that considering the effect and charisma the Swiss had, he would have changed things if he really wanted to.

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