Lleyton Hewitt last night hit out after he became the latest big name linked to alleged claims of match-fixing in tennis.

The Australian said: "I think it's a joke to deal with it. Obviously, there's no possible way.

"I know my name's now been thrown into it. I don't think anyone here would think that I've done anything with corruption or match-fixing. It's just absurd.

"For anyone that tries to go any further with it, then good luck. Take me on with it.

"It's disappointing. I think throwing my name out there with it makes the whole thing an absolute farce."

Hewitt's blast came after leading coach Dave Sammel revealed two of his British players were approached to throw matches.

Richard Gabb and Scott Clayton were confronted at a tournament in Turkey two years ago by Russian player Andrey Kumantsov.

The pair rejected the approach and immediately reported it to the authorities, who were already investigating Kumantsov and subsequently banned him from the sport for life.

Sammel, the head coach at Bath's high performance centre, said: "There was a Russian player who approached two of my guys.

"He had been approaching other players. He was doing it in Turkey and then he did it at a Futures (the lowest level of professional tennis) in England, and he got done for it. I told them they needed to report it immediately.

"I do know when they've been at Futures in Turkey that they've been approached to throw matches or sets. But that's all at Futures level. I've never heard of anything directly at Challenger or Tour level."

The Tennis Integrity Unit, which enforces the sport's anti-corruption code of conduct, has come under scrutiny following a report by the BBC and BuzzFeed that alleged match-fixing was not being properly investigated.

The two media companies cited 16 unnamed players around whom there was persistent suspicion but who had been allowed to continue playing.

On Wednesday, Novak Djokovic was forced to deny allegations in Italian newspaper Tuttosport that he threw a match in 2007.