SHANGHAI (AFP) — Under-fire tennis star Nikolay Davydenko on Saturday laughed off the match-fixing probe against him after his brother and wife were asked "funny" questions by investigators.
The world number four insisted he was not worried about the inquiry despite his brother and his wife, Irina, being quizzed this week.
"It's funny. I wasn't at this meeting, I was waiting in a hotel but my brother, lawyer and my wife were there," said the Russian.
"I asked my wife what happened and she said it was just funny. They were interesting questions so we were just laughing."
Davydenko is under investigation by the ATP over suspicious betting patterns relating to a match he played in Poland in August.
Gambling website Betfair refused to pay out after unusually large sums were wagered on 74th-ranked Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello, who lost the first set but was handed the match when Davydenko retired injured.
The ATP has reportedly stepped up its probe after Davydenko refused to hand over phone records. Investigators mainly wanted to question his wife and brother about recent injuries which have affected his performances, he said.
"There's a street in Moscow where rich people live. They asked my wife how many kilometres do you live from this street," said Davydenko, who lives in Volgograd, about 900 kilometres (560 miles) south of Moscow.
"She said, '3,000 kilometres.' It was funny. Some of the questions were interesting for these guys, for us they were funny."
Woes have multiplied for the 26-year-old who was also fined for not trying at St. Petersburg and warned by the chair umpire for repeatedly double-faulting against Marcos Baghdatis in Paris. He later blamed an elbow injury.
Several players have since revealed illegal betting approaches, suggesting a widespread problem in the sport.
On Saturday, Italy's Alessio di Mauro was banned for nine months and fined 60,000 dollars for betting on matches, the first player penalised under the ATP's Anti-Corruption Programme.
Davydenko also said he was being unfairly linked to other incidents, such as Tommy Haas's allegations that he was poisoned during a Davis Cup tie in Russia.
"Some stupid things are coming out about tennis and my name is always first on the list," he grumbled.
However, ahead of the year-ending Masters Cup, Davydenko said he was glad the season was almost over and predicted the controversies would soon die down.
"It was more difficult in the beginning. Every day the press asked questions," he said.
"Now I don't care. I feel much better. The press are just writing, but what can you do?"
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