The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) banned the Serb from tennis last October for accusations made against him, although these were never made public.

Savić said that the allegations came from a "top player" whom he could not name but whom he had not spoken to in 11 years.

The TIU investigation came after "evidence it had received that [Savić] had made invitations to another tennis player to fix the outcome of tennis matches".

The TIU found him guilty by of three violations, which occurred in October 2010, and the CAS ruling today backs that decision.

The 26-year-old was ranked 659th in the world at the time of his ban, and was fined $100,000 (£63,000/79,000) – that fine has been set aside though by the CAS, on the basis that the lifetime suspension is a sufficient deterrent.

Savić is only the second player ever to be banned for life, following Daniel Köllerer, the Austrian who was also found guilty of match-fixing last May.

Savić never competed in the main singles tennis tour as the highest position he achieved in the rankings was 363 in 2009.

The most prominent stage he has appeared on is the Serbian Open, where he has competed in the doubles as a wild card in the past.

In a statement, the CAS said it had "confirmed the decision...to rule that David Savić be permanently ineligible to participate in any event organised or sanctioned by any tennis governing body.

"The CAS panel rejected the player's arguments and concluded that the disputed facts had been proven not only by preponderance of the evidence but indeed to the panel's comfortable satisfaction."

The news is a blow to Serbian tennis, which has been basking in the glory of Novak Djokovic's achievements over the last year.

In 2011 Djokovic went 43 matches unbeaten until he lost to Swiss legend Roger Federer in the French Open, and finished the year with three grand slam titles.

Djokovic has been unable to replicate that astonishing form this year, although he still ranked number two after losing his top ranking to Federer following this year's Wimbledon.

He also recently lost to Britain's Andy Murray in the final of the US Open.

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