Fifth Italian banned for betting

Luzzi, 28, placed a bet of £2.30 on himself to win a match

Federico Luzzi has become the fifth Italian tennis player to be banned by the ATP for betting on matches.

The world number 139, who plays mainly on the challenger circuit, was found guilty of gambling on 836 matches between May 2004 and April 2007.

The 28-year-old was also suspended for 200 days and fined US$50,000 (£25,000).

Fellow Italian Giorgio Galimberti was banned earlier in February, following compatriots Potito Starace, Daniele Bracciali and Alessio Di Mauro.

Luzzi was found by the ATP to have "wagered 273 times on 836 tennis matches" and once placed a bet of around £2.30 on himself to win a match.

But the ATP said the player was not found to have made any attempt to "affect the outcome of any tennis match".

Last November, Di Mauro was banned for nine months and fined US$60,000 (£30,000) for betting on matches while Starace and Bracciali were sanctioned in December for six weeks and three months respectively for similar offences.

Galimberti was banned for 100 days and fined $35,000 (£17,500) after being found guilty of wagering on matches from June 2003 to January 2006.

"The ATP's Tennis Anti Corruption Program is clear that gambling on tennis matches by ATP players, player associates or staff will not be tolerated," said Gayle David Bradshaw, the ATP's executive vice-president of rules and competition.

"The ATP is committed to ensuring the integrity of our sport and will continue to instigate disciplinary proceedings against anyone found to be breaking our Anti Corruption Program's rules."

Corruption has been high on the ATP's agenda following an investigation last year prompted by irregular betting patterns over a match between world number five Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello in Poland.

Both players deny any involvement but several players have said they have been offered money to throw matches.

The ATP's Anti-Corruption Program, established in 2003, prohibits wagering on any form of tennis.