the bets as soon as they learned it was against the rules . Another Italian player , Alessio Di Mauro , became the first player sanctioned under the ATP 's new anti-corruption rules when he received a nine-month ban in November , also for betting on matches . Starace and Bracciali said they were scapegoats for a larger match-fixing scandal . `` It 's disgusting , '' said the 26-year-old Starace . `` The ATP does n't know where to turn . It 's all a joke . '' Bracciali said the two had been `` sacrificed . '' `` That 's why they came after us , '' the 29-year-old said . `` We are not champions and we do n't count in the upper echelons . '' ATP officials could not be reached for comment on Saturday . Concerns about match-fixing have risen since August , when an online betting company reported unusual betting patterns during a match between fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina . The company , Betfair , voided all bets and the ATP has been investigating . Davydenko , who retired while trailing in the third set , denies
ROME , Italy -- Italian tennis players Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali have been banned by the ATP for betting on matches . Top Italian player Potito Starace has been suspended for six weeks for betting on matches . The country 's top player Starace -- 31st in the ATP rankings -- has been suspended for six weeks from January 1 and fined $ 30,000 -LRB- 20,890 euros -RRB- for making five bets totalling around 90 euros two years ago . Bracciali , world ranked 258 , has been banned for three months and fined $ 20,000 -LRB- 13,930 euros -RRB- for making around 50 five-euro bets between 2004 and 2005 . The Italian Tennis Federation -LRB- FIT -RRB- confirmed the news on its website , www.federtennis.it . However , they denounced the penalties as disproportionate , saying the players never bet on their own matches . `` Injustice is done , '' the statement said . `` These penalties are absolutely , excessively severe compared to the magnitude of the violations carried out by the two players . '' The federation said the two were not aware of the ATP 's betting regulations , and that they stopped placing