Controversies and tennis often seem to go hand in hand, and the China Open semifinals were no exception. With Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz battling it out in a high-stakes showdown, the tension was already through the roof. But fans didn’t expect a technical glitch to steal the spotlight. As the match intensified, Medvedev found himself at the center of yet another tech mishap. The Russian star, known for his fiery personality, couldn’t hold back his frustration any longer and let his feelings be known—right on camera. 

Playing against Alcaraz, Medvedev demanded a hawk-eye review in the first set, when at 5-5, 0-15, the electronic line judge ruled in his opponent’s favor. However, he was informed that the facility was not available at that point in time, owing to some errors. The ATP star, visibly frustrated, expressed his agitation on camera. He also took a sly dig at the event organizers and lashed out at them for the issue. 

Reacting to the issue, Medvedev angrily said, “Why (does) ATP pay Hawk-Eye then? Hawk-Eye su***, no?” He continued slamming the organizers, and further added, “Don’t trust Hawk-Eye. Not my sponsor.” Interestingly, a similar situation was faced by Alcaraz as well. 

The Spaniard insisted that Medvedev’s second serve at 4-4, 40-30, which he could not return, should have been ruled a let. This was in fact admitted by the Russian player himself, who said, “I thought I heard something but I was not sure. When you tell me, probably it is let.” Interestingly, this is not the first time that Medvedev has vented frustration over the tournament officials. 

Similar scenes were witnessed during the 2023 US Open, where the Russian pro got rid of his racquet as Grigor Dimitrov broke at 5-5. As soon as he performed this act, the line judge blew the whistle, which further aggravated his anger. “I’m not going to play when they whistle,” Medvedev said, lashing out at the line judge.

“They’re stupid! If they don’t whistle, I’ll play!” he added. The Russian was unhappy with the crowd as well during the same match. Turning towards the crowd, Medvedev said, “I play guys, but shut your mouths, okay!”

Medvedev’s anger recently put him in a situation where his opponent demanded a disqualification of the player. 

When Daniil Medvedev’s act sparked major controversy at the Laver Cup

Daniil Medvedev has often found himself in hot waters and has never faded away from engaging in a scuffle with his opponents, crowds, or the officials. His anger issues have often put him in trouble and it happened at the Laver Cup again this year. 

Playing against Ben Shelton at the Laver Cup, Medvedev looked agitated and furious after he lost an important point in the tiebreaker. Serving at 4-5, he sent the ball long to give the world No. 17 a point and immediately threw his racket to the ground in frustration. But the racquet bounced after hitting the ground and almost reached the first row of spectators, thereby drawing a code violation for the Russian player for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

However, since no spectator was hit directly, demands of Medvedev’s disqualification, by Ben Shelton, were not accepted. This led to huge debates with the likes of Frances Tiafoe and Brad Gilbert lashing out at the player. It would be interesting to see if Medvedev shows a calm demeanor going ahead, after these recent controversies.