Milan - Italian Davis Cup player Marco Cecchinato is reportedly under investigation by his national tennis federation over suspicions of match-fixing during a tournament last October.
Cecchinato was the fourth seed at a Challenger tournament in Morocco where he coasted to victory in his first two matches before losing the quarter-final 6-1, 6-4 to 19-year-old Polish qualifier Kamil Majchrzak, who is ranked 338th by the ATP.
Suspicions were raised further by the existence of inconsistent betting patterns relating to their quarter-final meeting on the day of the match.
The Italian federation was notified and, according to widespread reports, is expected to discipline Cecchinato at a hearing that has yet to be announced.
Riccardo Accardi, a friend of Cecchinato and a fellow tennis professional, has also been implicated in the affair.
The news will come as a huge blow to the 23-year-old Cecchinato, who, ranked 89th in the ATP rankings, made his Davis Cup debut last week.
Italy had already qualified for the quarter-finals after racing to a 3-0 lead over Switzerland when Cecchinato won his team's fourth point in a 6-3, 7-5 singles win over Adrien Bossel.