Finger of Suspicion Pointed at Tennis Matches

An independent review of anti-corruption measures in tennis has uncovered a number of potentially suspicious matches requiring investigation. The report, conducted by the sport's integrity experts Jeff Rees and Ben Gunn, is expected next week.

The 10-week review was commissioned in January by tennis's four governing bodies: the four grand slams, the men's tour organizer, the ATP, the women's WTA and the rule-making ITF. Although the report found no evidence of systematic and institutionalized corruption in the sport, its findings highlight instances where some players may have been guilty of breaking anti-corruption rules.

The news emerged on the day an Italian bookmaker contacted the ATP's competitions administrator, Gayle Bradshaw, to demand action over a player who has allegedly fixed two matches in the past three weeks. Both matches involved irregular betting patterns. "In the first match he won the first set by a big margin and was 2-1 up in the second set but he was trading at 3-1 against to win the [best-of-three-set] match," the bookmaker told this column. "Fifteen days later again the prices are wrong and again he loses the match."

Betfair's integrity team was also alerted to the irregularities. The online exchange is understood to have settled the market on the matches in question and would not confirm whether it had joined the bookmaker in advising the ATP of the alleged suspicious activity.

More from Mourinho

Senior officials at Stamford Bridge are unhappy about the timing of Jose Mourinho's recent media appearances. The public relations-savvy former Chelsea manager has been a frequent presence on television screens and in newspapers of late. Chelsea are suspicious that the out-of-work manager is using the achievements of his successor, Avram Grant, for self-promotion. However, Mourinho has been reminding audiences of Liverpool's failure to score at Stamford Bridge in any of their past eight meetings so it is hardly surprising that Chelsea are perfectly happy with the content of his comments.

Meanwhile, White Concierge, a high-end tour operator, estimates that fans of the English contingent of this season's Champions League final in Moscow who do not yet have tickets will have to spend a minimum of £2,000 to see their club in action, making a single-night round trip. Alternatively the company is offering its own two-night private-jet package for £31,600.

Cheetah chance

Oscar Pistorius will learn today if his hopes of competing in the Beijing Olympic Games can be revived. The South African runner has appealed against a judgment by the International Association of Athletics Federations that appeared to close the door on his Olympic participation.

The IAAF ruled in January that the Cheetah prostheses he uses on his amputated legs are an illegal "technical device" providing an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes. The two-day hearing is taking place at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Chaired by Professor Ian Hunter, an international disputes-resolution expert from London, the three-man panel will deliver a binding verdict.

Hoey's lone furrow

While Kate Hoey deliberated over whether to join Boris Johnson's post-election mayoral team as its sports adviser, she might have been expected to canvass the opinion of colleagues. The first call would presumably be to Tessa Jowell, the minister for the Olympics and for London.

But the word in Westminster is that the independently minded labor backbencher declined to make contact. Could there be lingering resentment that the then culture secretary, Jowell, failed to prevent her one-time London labor companion from losing the sports minister's job in 2001?