Mixed doubles players probed

MELBOURNE – Players involved in a mixed doubles match at the Australian Open said Monday they were interviewed by the Tennis Integrity Unit after a newspaper reported it had attracted suspicious betting patterns.

According to The New York Times report, the gambling website Pinnacle Sports said it had received an unusual spike in bets for Lukasz Kubot and Andrea Hlavackova to beat David Marrero and Lara Arruabarrena, causing it to suspend betting before the teams played on Sunday.

All players identified in the newspaper report rejected any possibility of fixing in the match, which was won by Kubot and Hlavackova, 6-0, 6-3.

Kubot said Monday that the TIU had asked him and Hlavackova questions about the match, without offering any more details. He added, though, that he didn’t notice anything unusual on the court, saying “we give 100 percent of that match” and he believed his opponents “were trying 100 percent.”