Daniil Medvedev ran a real risk of being disqualified from the Laver Cup match against Ben Shelton while there are occasions when it is impossible or should not be permissible to engage in such terrible behaviour.
The Russian player, trailing 4-5 in the tie-break, dropped a crucial point, handing his opponent two consecutive set points, and vented his frustration by tossing his racket into an area that wasn’t exactly secure for the front-row spectators.
He did not exit the court with a default knockout because the racket did not hit anyone. Although Medvedev prevailed in the tie-break, he lost the Laver Cup for the second time in a row.
Speaking about his gesture during the Laver Cup press conference, the Russian attempted to defend himself and said: “I didn’t mean to throw the racket like that. I didn’t mean to throw it in a dangerous place for the others, it was a horrible gesture on my part. I was lucky because I didn’t hit anyone. When you don’t hit anyone, you don’t get disqualified in tennis. That’s how things work. Obviously, it’s a gesture that I shouldn’t have made. It’s rare for me to say something like that, but I played a horrible match.”
He added: “I felt, during the match, that I played the worst tennis of my life. But it’s okay because I fought until the end. I lost two matches in the super tie-break, I didn’t have the decisive momentum to win them. I’m very disappointed: here I’m not playing just for myself but for the whole team. I’m very disappointed with my performance.”
Daniil Medvedev in 2024
Currently the world no.5, the Russian played his last match on the 22nd of September when he lost to world no.17 Ben Shelton 6-7(6) 7-5 10-7 in the round robin in the Laver Cup (draw).
Until now, during this year Daniil has achieved a composed 39-16 win-loss record. Daniil Medvedev’s best result of the year was reaching the final at the Australian Open and Indian Wells.
Daniil Medvedev will play the world no.220 Diego Schwartzman in the Round Robin on Sunday at 4:00 pm on CENTER COURT. Their actual record is 6-0 for Medvedev.
The Russian reached the final at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open).
Daniil won 21 titles in his career: 11 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts, 8 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Daniil Medvedev |
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