The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) has announced that former top 500 player Alexandros Jakupovic has been handed a lifetime suspension for corruption offences.
The little-known Greek player has never played in a Grand Slam event with his best ranking position being 464th in the singles (2009) and 267th in the doubles (2008). Since 2003 he has won 35 titles on the Futures circuit, 32 in doubles and three titles in singles. In the Davis Cup he has played 49 matches for Greece, winning 21 of them. His best result in the Davis Cup was a straight sets win over Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in 2007.
The TIU have found Jakupovic guilty of five offences. The ban means that the 34-year-old is not allowed to participate or attend any tennis tournament organised by the sports governing body. The five charges against Jakupovic are listed as the following:-
Charge one:Section D.1.d: No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, contrive or attempt to contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any Event
Charge two: Section D.1.e: No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or facilitate any Player to not use his or her best efforts in any Event
Charge three: Section D.1.g: No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, offer or provide any money, benefit or Consideration to any other Covered Person with the intention of negatively influencing a Player’s best efforts in any Event
Charges four and five: breaches of Section D.2.a.i: In the event any Player is approached by any person who offers or provides any type of money, benefit or Consideration to a Player to (i) influence the outcome or any other aspect of any Event, or (ii) provide Inside Information, it shall be the Player’s obligation to report such incident to the TIU as soon as possible.
The case is still far from over. Shortly after the charges were announced in November, Jakupovic released a statement criticising the TIU, calling them ‘incompetent’ and protesting his innocence.
“Those who know me and know my love for tennis know well that I have been a model of fair play throughout my 20-year sporting career, during which I was never punished for anything” He said in a statement to tennisnet.gr last month.
“I do not allow anyone to undermine the honour and my reputation. I will appeal directly to the Supreme Sports Tribunal for the annulment of the incorrect decision and I will practice lawsuits for slander discredit to those implicated in this affair. “
This year Jakupovic has played in two Italian Challenger tournaments in Padova and Todi, losing in the first round at both of them.
