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Gambling fear rocks contest
THE TENNIS tournament in Eastbourne was rocked by an illegal gambling controversy this week when two Russians with laptops were marched out of Centre Court.
The two men were spotted sitting in the crowd typing in to their laptops during a game between Russian Nadia Petrova and Serbian Ana Ivanovic at the Devonshire Park.
The Herald believes that because of the differing time zones between the UK and Russia, they were able to place live bets from the UK to Russian online bookies and in a split second it takes for a point, game, set or match to be updated, the Russians know the outcome, place their bets and get paid out.
The betting scam is illegal and happened on the first day of the Aegon International Tennis Championships.
The two men were asked to leave the tournament and escorted from Devonshire Park.
Sources at the week-long tournament have confirmed the incident took place but Eastbourne Borough Council and the Lawn Tennis Association were remaining tightlipped about what exactly happened.
A spokesperson at the tournament told the Herald, "We have not been made aware of any irregular betting patterns and we are unable to comment on any specific incident."
Eastbourne Police say officers had not been made aware of any illegal betting syndicate at the tournament.
The finals of the tournament, which has enjoyed glorious sunshine all week, are due to take place on Saturday.
Tournament director Gavin Fletcher said he had been 'delighted' with the quality of the player field in the first year of the mixed tournament.
In previous years, the Eastbourne tennis championships have seen only women competing.
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Weather for Eastbourne
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
