fined for his lack of effort in a recent loss.

The top-seeded Davydenko won the first set in 27 minutes, but drew a rebuke from chair umpire Jean-Philippe Dercq in the third set. Davydenko double-faulted four times in the second set and six times in the third. "When I made a double-fault, he gave me a notice for a wrong behavior on the court as if I was throwing the match," Davydenko said Thursday after the match. "I was surprised. I've never heard anything like this before."

He'd never heard of someone throwing a match?  The Russian tennis player is shocked by the notion of corruption for monetary gain?

"I was simply shocked to hear him say that. This is just outrageous. How does he know what I was trying to do? I was so upset with the whole thing I started crying."

…Something I would have never expected from someone who competes in an argyle sweater vest.  The sports world is just full of surprises.

ATP Tour officials are investigating 4th-ranked Russian tennis star Nikolay Davydenko's loss to 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello in the Prokom Open on Thursday:

In an unprecedented move Friday, British online gambling company Betfair voided all bets placed on the match, saying the market wasn't fair. Betfair said it received about $7 million in bets on the match — 10 times the usual amount — and most of the money was on Arguello to win, even after Davydenko won the first set 6-2 . . . Arguello won the second set 6-3 and was leading 2-1 in the third when Davydenko retired, saying he had aggravated a left foot injury in the second set.

People really bet on tennis?  Don't they have more exciting pastimes on which to wager, like cockroach races and thumb-wrestling matches?  Anyway, if a Russian is implicated in a gambling scandal, I'm sure the Russian mob is involved somehow.  From what I heard via a steel hauler at a truck stop bathroom (don't ask), they control everything in the former USSR from the music industry to hijacking trains.  And I saw this show on the History Channel where they bought a Soviet submarine to smuggle drugs, which is utterly ridiculous.  And by "utterly ridiculous", I mean "totally fucking awesome". -KD

(Spasiba to Foul Balls for the tip.)