Daniil Medvedev left an umpire speechless with a bizarre response during his Madrid Open win over Sebastian Korda.
The world no.4 was left frustrated when the roof of the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium was not closed after it started raining at the beginning of the second set, having just lost the first 7-5.
Medvedev has gained a reputation for fiery encounters with match officials[/caption]
When switching sides with his opponent after the first game of the new set, Medvedev took issue with the umpire being sheltered from the elements, whilst he and his opponent were not.
The 2021 US Open champion offered a suggestion to the match official, saying: “You are fine with umbrella. We’re aren’t with the rain. Maybe close the roof, no?”
Despite match official Nacho Forcadell explaining that the decision was out of his hands, the Russian continued to argue his case.
He demanded: “Okay, so call someone, whose decision is it? You said it’s not your decision, call me someone whose decision it is.”
The umpire then informed Medvedev: “They take the decision based on the weather.”
But the 28-year-old was clearly unsatisfied with this explanation, and snapped back with a sarcastic suggestion as to who ‘they’ may be.
He asked: “Who [are] they? Illuminati? Illuminati?”
The desperate official was eventually able to ease the tension, telling Medvedev: “No one knows what’s going to happen, it’s an outdoor event,” who then returned to the baseline to resume playing.
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This is not the former world no.1’s first on-court outburst, who has developed a reputation as one of the sport’s most outspoken players.
He made the headlines at the 2022 Australian Open when he called an umpire a ‘small cat’ during a furious rant over the officiating during his semi-final clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
More recently, Medvedev branded tennis a ‘s*** sport’ during his Indian Wells final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.
Fortunately for the Grand Slam champion, his dispute with the umpire did not appear to affect his performance this time, as he went on to stage an impressive comeback over Korda.
After winning the second set on a tie-break to level things up, Medvedev then convincingly secured the decider 6-3 to advance through against his world no. 26-ranked opponent.
The controversial star will now face 17th seed Alexander Bublik in the last 16, who recorded an impressive victory over promising young talent Ben Shelton, defeating the American 3-6 7-6(7) 6-4.
Medvedev will look to get his clay court campaign on track in Madrid ahead of the upcoming French Open, having previously exited the Monte Carlo Masters in the last 16 on his return to the surface.
With all-time great Rafael Nadal and reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz also competing at the Roland Garros curtain-raiser, the Russian certainly faces a battle to boost his credentials in time for the second Grand Slam of the year.
Source: TalkSport.com Tennis
