Djokovic reveals he was offered £140,000 to throw match

Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic has revealed he was offered £140,000 to throw a match in 2007 as the sport faces fresh allegations of elite match-fixing over the past decade.

Djokovic said "people that were working with me at the time" were approached with a $200,000 (£140,000) offer for him to deliberately lose a match at a tournament in St Petersburg.

"Of course, we threw it away right away," the Serbian told reporters on the day he began his defence of the Australian Open. "It made me feel terrible."

Responding directly to the latest allegations, Djokovic suggested the alleged widespread fixing concerned matches "almost 10 years ago" and players "who are not active any more" despite claims one top-50 player suspected of fixing is competing in the Australian Open.

The 10-time grand slam winner said the sport had "evolved" and "upgraded our programmes and authorities to deal with these particular cases", adding: "I don’t think the shadow is cast over our sport."

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