Davydenko fined for lack of effort

Nikolay Davydenko, already at the center of a betting investigation, was fined $2,000 for lack of effort a loss at the St. Petersburg Open.

The ATP said Friday the fourth-ranked Russian was fined for lack of "best effort" in his 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 loss Thursday to Marian Cilic.

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. No matter how I`d played, no matter what had happen to me, I was never given such a notice."

Davydenko said during the exchange, Dercq asked him about his condition. Davydenko first said there was nothing wrong, but later said the problem was in his legs.

"He could not solve my problem anyway, that why I first told him I was OK, but I didn`t play the way I did in the first set. That`s why he gave me a notice," Davydenko said. "Later I told him that my legs have collapsed. I could not move."

The ATP is investigating a match involving Davydenko in August in which online gambling site Betfair voided bets because of irregular betting patterns.

In that match in Poland, Davydenko won the first set 6-1, then withdrew against 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello in the third set because of a foot injury.

Davydenko qualified for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai next month by winning the Kremlin Cup two weeks ago.

He is scheduled to play next week in the Paris Masters, where he is the defending champion.

sections: Sport