"Novak Djokovic said he had been offered match fixing" - Marco Trungelliti opens up about players' admissions as he recalls how he was ostracized

Argentine tennis player Marco Trungelliti recently recalled how players like Novak Djokovic came forward with match-fixing claims while making an honest admission about the scrutiny he was subjected to by his colleagues upon his own admission.

In 2018, Marco Trungelliti voluntarily reported match-fixing attempts, which subsequently led to three of his compatriots, Patricio Heras, Nicolas Kicker, and Federico Coria, being slapped with bans.

Following his attestations, the Argentine was ostracized by the tennis community and received the support of only a handful, including John McEnroe and Darren Cahill. He and his family also received death threats for acting as a whistleblower. A year later, Trungelliti also revealed how he rejected a match-fixing bribe.

In an interview with La Nacion, the 33-year-old made an honest admission about the consequences of his confession. He said that while action was taken against the perpetrators, he was affected by it.

“It hurt me a lot. It was a deep pain because of who I was. What I said was fulfilled and everything remained the same,” he recalled.

Trungelliti also noted that he wasn’t the only person to come forward with information on match-fixing. He recalled Novak Djokovic making similar revelations in 2016, that he had been indirectly offered $200,000 for a first-round loss, which the Serb declined, terming it ‘an act of un-sportsmanship and a crime in sport.’

He mentioned former Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky, who himself made a confession after initially criticizing the Argentine for throwing his colleagues under the bus.

“Djokovic said he had been offered match fixing. Sergiy Stakhovsky, who had called me a snitch, later came out to say that he was also offered. It's like everything fell into place, but it broke me, basically, because I didn't expect it,” he said.

He also remarked on the governing bodies’ failure to protect the players who came forward.

“That, in addition to how the ATP, the TIU, the Association and the ITF acted, was a tremendous combo, one stab after the other. All of these organizations fell far short of what is needed for things to improve,” the Argentine added.

Following his admission four years ago, Marco Trungelliti left his country and settled in Andorra. Ranked World No. 236, he is now back in Argentina contesting the qualifiers of a Challenger event in Buenos Aires.

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"I met Novak Djokovic at the US Open and thanked him" – Marco Trungelliti on Serb's fight for players' right

Novak Djokovic co-founded the PTPA along with Vasek Pospisil in 2019

Marco Trungelliti also praised Novak Djokovic and Canadian tennis player Vasek Pospisil for founding the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and keeping the players’ interests in mind.

The Argentine revealed that he attended the organization’s meetings and thanked the World No. 1 at the US Open. He also interacted with Pospisil.

“I met him at the US Open and thanked him for what he is doing for the players. I also spoke with Pospisil: I went to a couple of meetings,” he said, as per La Nacion.

He also criticized Novak Djokovic’s arch-rival Roger Federer for his non-involvement.

“Much more respectable than what Federer does, who left tennis and only returned with the Laver Cup,” he said.