Russian No.1 Nikolay Davydenko has been involved in much controversy in recent months, with claims of match-fixing in tennis tournaments. Suspicious betting patterns were detected on leading betting exchange Betfair which caused the company to void all bets on one particular match between Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina.

Betfair works on people backing or laying each other’s odds on sporting events. On this particular occasion more than £3.4 million was bet on the one match – 10 times more than usual for a match of this pedigree. The money bet distorted the odds and irregular patterns showed in the betting. I actually placed a bet on the match during the second set when Davydenko, although he had won the first set, was the big outsider. I thought it strange at the time but, hey, it was worth a gamble, only for Davydenko to retire injured in the third set. Strange? Maybe too strange? But what proof have people got that Davydenko was involved and that he wasn't really injured at the time?  Some betting companies void any tennis matches that are not completed due to injury but as long as the first set is completed then Betfair pays out to the winner.

Weeks later Davydenko was fined for not trying in a match and his service games contained numerous double faults – that again looked suspicious. His 2007 campaign was destroyed as the media attention put Davydenko in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. I, for one, feel the whole case against the Russian needs to be put to rest. He is still a top four player in the world and just won the Miami Masters Series event, defeating Rafael Nadal in the final. He is a quality player and deserves to have his name cleared as the investigation has proved nothing so far. Davydenko retired again yesterday against Roger Federer in Estoril. Having lost the opening set, Davydenko was a break up in the second but retired injured. Although I think he is innocent, the Russian is not helping himself by these retirements!

If you think that Davydenko is a cheat then you could claim many other players should be classed as the same. Just look at the amount of tennis matches that are played which are so one-sided before the underdog comes back and wins. Check out the amount of match points that are thrown away by players and the number of players who become injured in many matches, just like Davydenko. Think of the number of double faults some players serve in matches. Elena Dementieva is often in double figures during matches! How do we know that she isn't purposely throwing matches?

Tennis is too tough to call and there are many strange occurrences in every single match. It’s just too difficult to tell. I like to think that the game is as clean as other sports and that the true champions deserve all the success they have on merit and merit alone.

Money and gambling are always going to be big in sport but the true winners are the sportsmen and women who play to win. There’s enough prize money for the world’s elite to not have to get involved in off-court antics, however some lesser players may be tempted. There is so much to gamble on during a tennis match, such as the amount of games in a match, who will win their serve, next game winner and total number of sets. It is easy to cheat in this sport when you think about it! However, tennis is about excitement, skill and suspense – don’t let gambling or cheats get in the way of this.