Melbourne: Two players at the Australian Open said Monday they have been interviewed by officials over reports their opponents may have deliberately lost their first round mixed-doubles fixture, fuelling fresh fears of match-fixing in tennis.

The remarks by Lukasz Kubot and Andrea Hlavackova came after the New York Times reported an online bookmaker had suspended gambling on the lowly match because of unusual betting patterns. All players involved in the match rejected the claims of a fix. The allegation by betting firm Pinnacle Sports came after the BBC and BuzzFeed said last week players who had been in the sport's top 50 had repeatedly fallen under suspicion but had never faced action.