(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-13 09:13

BERLIN - German tennis player Philipp Kohlschreiber, accused of match-fixing by an unnamed source in German newspaper Die Welt on Sunday, has insisted he has "nothing to hide" and "only plays to win."

Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber plays a return to Russia's Mikhail Youzhny during their quarter-final match at the St. Petersburg Open tennis tournament October 26, 2007. [Agencies]

The paper's source claims about 30 players are involved in match-fixing for internet betting sites including Russians, Italians and Argentinians, but also Germans, citing Philipp Kohlschreiber as "the worst."

The paper said two recent matches in which Kohlschreiber played were the subject of an abnormal volume of bets.

The German's defeat against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on October 4 during the ATP tournament in Metz, which Kohlschreiber was favored to win, was one of the matches highlighted.

But the 24-year-old, ranked 32nd in the world, was incensed by the allegations.

"I am shocked, these unfair and scandalous accusations are a slur on my name and reputation as a player," Kohlschreiber said.

"I am a professional sportsman and I always play to win.

"I have strictly nothing to hide, I am at the disposal of the German confederation and ATP to answer all their questions."

The revelations against Kohlschreiber come two weeks after an anonymous German player accused two of his compatriots of rigging games without naming them.

Georg von Waldenfels, the president of the German Tennis Federation (DTB), says he will make contact "as quickly as possible with Philipp Kohlschreiber" to discuss these accusations.