Feliciano López named in Wimbledon doubles match-fixing allegation

Feliciano López, due to play doubles with Andy Murray in his comeback here at Queen’s this week, was consulting his lawyers on Tuesday about stories circulating in Spain that he and his playing partner, Marc López, were named in an alleged match-fixing scam at Wimbledon in 2017.

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The Spaniard, who won the French Open title with his compatriot and unrelated namesake in 2016 – beating the Bryan brothers in the final – and was the singles champion here two years ago, declined to comment on the story. It first appeared on Tuesday in El Confidencial, a respected Spanish digital newspaper, then was repeated across social and traditional media outlets.

Sources close to the player said he strenuously denied any suggestion that he and Marc López were even aware that their surprise loss to John-Patrick Smith and Matt Reid, unseeded Australians, had subsequently aroused the suspicions of the Spanish police.

Smith, ranked 81 in the world in doubles at the time, and Reid (76) beat the 11th seeds 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-4. Feliciano López had previously withdrawn from the singles draw with a leg injury.

Murray’s camp, meanwhile, confirmed on Tuesday afternoon they were aware of the newspaper stories, but also declined to comment – as did the Tennis Integrity Unit, which knows about the claims.

The allegations centre on the monitored activity of two retired 38-year-old Spanish footballers, Raúl Bravo, who played six times for Leeds on loan from Real Madrid in 2003, and Carlos Aranda, a La Liga veteran of several clubs. They have also been named in investigations into alleged match-fixing in football, according to El Confidencial.

The report said: “Investigators conducting Operation Oikos reveal that information was passed on about a doubles match involving Feliciano López and Marc López at Wimbledon in July 2017, which presumably would be for the purpose of making illegal bets.

“The police got the information from listening to Aranda’s phone. He said: ‘I have information about a match, do you want it?’ The other speaker said: ‘Yes man, of course – if you have it.’

“Aranda demanded the contact committed to paying him 50% of all his winnings as payment for the tip, who asked how much he should put on. Aranda said: ‘As much as you want, it’s Wimbledon!’ – the idea being that the tournament is so big, no one would be surprised by a huge bet.

“‘What Feliciano López and his partner will lose is the doubles,’ was the tip. [They] then lost to Matt Reid and John Patrick Smith, winning the first set before losing the following three.”

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Feliciano López and Murray are old friends on the circuit, and the Scot’s coach, Jamie Delgado, made the first overtures about playing together at Queen’s.

“He spoke about the possibility of playing here with Andy,” López said earlier in the week, “and of course my answer was yes. For me, it’s a great opportunity to share the court with a great player, with a great friend, as well. I hope it’s going to be a good week for us.”

Lopez was due to play singles in the Fever-Tree Championships on Tuesday against Márton Fucsovics but, like the rest of the card, the match was washed out. Play was abandoned shortly after 5pm. Had he played, López would have been obliged to attend a press conference – and it is unlikely the questions would have strayed far from the match-fixing allegations.

However, a source close to the player asserted on Tuesday evening that López was angered by the story and had been in long discussions with his lawyers.

Marc López told Spanish newspaper AS: “They have no right to dirty our names like that.”

As rain ripped through the Queen’s schedule, with more rain forecast, Murray’s comeback, scheduled for Wednesday, has been pushed back to Thursday, to allow López a chance to play his singles.

Murray, still searching for a doubles partner at Wimbledon – which starts 1 July – will play with the 35-year-old Brazilian Marcelo Melo at Eastbourne next week.