Daniil Medvedev had quite a close call on Sunday! In the heat of the Laver Cup, even the coolest of players can crack under pressure, and the Russian sensation nearly did just that, although he might not be the calmest around. Medvedev’s frustration during the match could have spiraled into disaster, almost costing him and Team Europe dearly. Thankfully, luck was on his side, and he narrowly escaped what could’ve been a tournament-ending moment. But the incident didn’t go unnoticed. The tennis community quickly weighed in on the situation, and Frances Tiafoe and Brad Gilbert were one of the first to voice their thoughts.

Playing against Ben Shelton on Sunday, Medvedev looked agitated and frustrated 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 anger. 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, demands of his disqualification from Team World, including Shelton himself, were not accepted. Amid the uproar from the tennis community, the latest to weigh in is Coco Gauff’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert.  Taking to X, Gilbert wrote, “Meddy Bear 🐻 was pretty lucky 🍀 on that racket Chuck, maybe at some point his rule needs to be relooked at more closely then umpires referee decisions.” But Gilbert is not the only one to react sharply to the incident. 

Soon after the incident, American star Frances Tiafoe reached out to the umpire, Mohamed Lahyani, and questioned why the Russian player was not defaulted for the act. The umpire was quick to give a justification and said, “Frances, it bounced and it didn’t hit anyone. The result was not bad. The result was not bad. If it had hit someone, I agree with you.” Eventually, the situation and the dominance of Shelton proved to be costly for Medvedev who eventually lost the three-setter by 7-6(6), 5-7, 10-7. However, this is not the first time that Medvedev has found himself in such a situation.

During the second-round match at the Australian Open this year, Medvedev struggled against Emil Ruusuvuori and lost the first two sets of the match. While he eventually bounced back, the frustration was evident. The World No. 5 was seen throwing his racquet at the bottles in front of his seating area out of frustration, for which he received widespread flak from the community. Interestingly, Medvedev’s anger has not just landed him in tussles with his opponents but sometimes the organizers of the tournaments as well.

When Daniil Medvedev expressed anger against US Open umpires

Daniil Medvedev has often found himself in hot waters for losing temper. He has been spotted engaging in tussles with the opponents, the crowd as well as the tournament officials. One such incident unfolded during the US Open in 2023. 

The tennis star 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 even exaggerated his anger. “I’m not going to play when they whistle,” Medvedev said, lashing out at the alarms raised by the officials. “They’re stupid! If they don’t whistle, I’ll play!” he added. The Russian even engaged in a tussle with the crowd during the same match. Turning towards the crowd, Medvedev said, “I play guys, but shut your mouths, okay!” 

For now, it will be interesting to see if Medvedev’s frustration eventually costs his team, because he ended up losing the match against Shelton. Can Team Europe overcome the dominance of Team World? Well, only time will tell.