Daniil Medvedev launched an extraordinary rant at the umpire before rallying to beat Stan Wawrinka at the Rotterdam Open. After missing two set points to take the lead, the second seed eventually came through 6-7(8) 6-4 6-1 to secure a place in the last-16.
But the match was overshadowed by the 28-year-old losing his head with the official at 6-5 up in the first set, accusing him of having “deep problems” and “no eyes.”
It followed Medvedev being given a time violation despite seemingly being made to wait by the ball girl before being able to serve.
After returning to his chair, he shouted: “Why you give me a violation? She didn’t give me the ball, the ball girl. You have a problem, you have no eyes, you are so bad.”
The umpire tried to argue back, only for Medvedez to seem to refer to a previous incident involving one of his compatriots. “No, you dont have eyes man, you are so bad. I remember with Karen Khachanov. You remember? I remember you didn’t have eyes, huh?”
Not done there, Medvedev then went on to suggest he was deliberately being targeted. And he blamed the umpire for causing the unsavoury scene, as Wawrinka sat silently in his own chair.
He continued: “What’s wrong with you guys? Every match. I was calm. But you are looking for trouble, man. You have some problems, actual deep problems. I didn’t talk to you or say anything, and then you had some problems.”
Medvedev continued to look rattled as he lost the first set, but then composed himself to level the match before upping the ante in the decider. It was his first appearance in Rotterdam since winning the title two years ago.
He will now face either qualifier Mattia Bellucci or wild card Mees Rottgering on Wednesday. Medvedev is searching for his first title since the 2023 ATP Masters 1000 in Rome.
Afterwards, Medvedev cut a much calmer figure when he faced the media. He admitted that his recent mixed form had proved a factor in him trailing the 39-year-old before he battled back.
“When you have some confidence, you win some sets which you should lose. When you don’t have the confidence, you lose some sets which you should win,” he said. “But I knew if I continued to push and try to play better, it could work out. Hopefully, I can play better and better in the next matches.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk