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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

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  Debate

Debate

Did a fire alarm really help Medvedev crush Borges, or was it all skill and strategy?

The ongoing US Open is bringing a lot of drama to fans. 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev had such a moment during his match against Nuno Borges yesterday. While Medvedev couldn’t take control of Borges’ lead at the beginning an unexpected incident changed the game’s course. Medvedev who trailed initially, had his fate changed which showed how a small error in the management can cause a player huge loss.

Medvedev faced an unexpected situation during his Round of 16 match against Nuno Borges at the Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday. In the third set of their match, an alarm rang leaving attendees and players quite surprised. After that Forcadell announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, due to a technical difficulty with the electronic line-calling system, we have paused the match.

It happened when Daniil Medvedev made a good return to Borges’ hit. Later it was found out that a glitch in the automatic system that makes in and out line calls caused the alarms to ring. Medvedev who lagging behind Borges’ lead had a moment to change the course of the game after the match halted for some minutes.

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Strange experience but it did help me because the next two points I felt like he started to get the momentum and this broke it a little bit but yeah that’s things that we don’t control,” Medvedev said when a reporter asked him whether he often had matches delayed for minutes.

This Russian ATP star’s comment helped to understand how that momentary break ignited Medvedev’s fire to lead the game, which resulted in his win at the Round of 16. When this glitch happened, Beatriz Haddad Maia was playing against Caroline Wozniacki. Their match’s chair umpire Marijana Veljovic informed them about the situation. A similar situation occurred during Coco Gauff’s match against Tatjana Maria in round 2.

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Despite the break being called Medvedev’s turning point in the match, the former ATP no 1 believed his opponent was not in his true form. Instead, he criticized Borges’ performance pointing out his mistakes.

Daniil Medvedev believed Nuno Borges “played worse” than Melbourne yesterday

What’s your perspective on:

Did a fire alarm really help Medvedev crush Borges, or was it all skill and strategy?

Have an interesting take?

After winning the Round of 16, Medvedev narrated his strange experience with the alarm and refused to accept that Borges was leading with a better chance of winning before their match halted. “To be honest, he played worse (than in Melbourne. Even by the stats he made a lot of unforced errors and a lot of double faults. Everyone is doing double faults here, its probably something to do with the condition of the balls,” Medvedev said.

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Borges made 10 double faults and 51 unforced errors, a big setback for any Grand Slam participant. Medvedev also explained how he managed to serve better and didn’t offer any opportunity to Borges to break back. This helped the Russian to secure his victory and enter the American Slam’s quarterfinals against Jannik Sinner.

Daniil Medvedev and Nuno Borges’ match went through an unexpected management error. However, the authorities were quick to resolve the issue. While the glitch might have helped Medvedev’s victory, the ATP star’s hard work brought him this far in the ongoing US Open. If Medvedev sticks to such confidence, he might win another Grand Slam title soon. What do you think?