SOURCE: SI.com

You've probably heard that suspicions were, uh, shall we say, piqued recently when millions of dollars were suddenly bet on the 87th-ranked tennis player, one Martin Arguello, when he played the world No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko in the first round of an obscure tournament somewhere you've never heard of in Poland. And, heavens to Betsy, Davydenko suddenly decided he had a toe injury and had to retire. My, my.

But that denouement did not surprise me nearly so much as to learn that just one British gambling site -- named Betfair -- announced in passing that it regularly took in about $700,000 on such a match. Think of it: $700,000 routinely bet at one gambling establishment on most every-day matches.

Never mind that you've got to be batty to bet on tennis. And forget anything as sinister as gambling coups. Lots of times at a tournament the best players get guaranteed appearance money up front. These guys aren't exactly encouraged to knock themselves out.

Deep, too, in the sport is a culture of what is, in friendly terms, called "tanking" -- losing on purpose because the player simply wants to go home or get on to the next tournament where he has a girlfriend waiting. How often have I been regaled, late at night at the bar, knee-slapping tales about opponents, both of whom were trying to tank the same match.

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