Saying tennis is "potentially at a crossroads", an independent review panel found 45 matches that merit further investigation because of irregular betting patterns and offered a host of recommendations to the sport's leaders for combating corruption.The panel's 66-page report, prompted in part by suspicions surrounding a match last year involving fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko, was released on Monday by the International Tennis Federation, the ATP, the WTA Tour and the four Grand Slams.The 45 unidentified matches, played in the last five years, were among 73 examined by the panel, which warned of "inside information"."We do not doubt that criminal elements may be involved in seeking to subvert or corrupt some players or players' support staff; that may even involve organised criminal gangs, but to elevate that suspicion to a claim of 'Mafia' involvement is, in our view, a distortion of the facts and is positively damaging to the sport," the report said.The review was prompted by a series of events connected to gambling in tennis. Most prominently, an online betting site, in an unprecedented move, voided all bets on a match involving Davydenko last year because of suspicious gambling patterns.The site received about 3.4 million pounds in wagers on the match, 10 times the usual amount, and most of the money backed 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello - with some coming in even after he lost the opening set. The match ended when Davydenko quit in the third set, citing a foot injury. An ATP inquiry is ongoing."The name 'Davydenko' is being abused," his manager, Ronnie Leitgeb, said on Monday from Poertschach, Austria, where the Russian is playing."If his name keeps coming up in rumors and nothing has been proven in the upcoming two or three months, we'll consider taking legal action."Since that case was opened, other players have come forward to say they have been approached by people trying to influence a match. Belgian player Gilles Elseneer said he was offered - and turned down - more than $100,000 to lose a first-round match against Potito Starace of Italy at Wimbledon in 2005.Five players, all Italians, have been fined and suspended for betting on tennis. "Whilst professional tennis is neither institutionally nor systematically corrupt, it is potentially at a crossroads," the report said."There is sufficient cause for concern about the integrity of some players and those outside tennis who seek to corrupt them."
