Masters Tournament

Daniil Medvedev does not have it easy in France. The history of the Russian tennis player’s conflicts with the French audience was also extended by the current tournament in the Bercy hall in Paris, from which the third player in the world surprisingly dropped out in the second round.

It was not the first time, and probably not the last time, that Medvedev – paradoxically a tennis player who has an official residence in Monaco and speaks fluent French – got into trouble with passionate French fans.

The Russian favorite was eliminated from the prestigious indoor event of the Masters 1000 series in Paris after his opening match, when he was not enough against the experienced Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in sets 3:6, 7:6, 6:7 in an exciting and above-standard quality battle.

The long duel was accompanied by passions and the Russian was booed by the audience several times. At one point, it seemed that he would not even continue in the match because of this.

“They booed me. I didn’t understand why, so I didn’t want to continue playing. I won’t continue until they stop,” the Grand Slam champion described after the match.

But he soon realized that there was no point in sulking. “It dawned on me that they just wouldn’t stop. Then I got a warning and asked myself if I really wanted to be disqualified because of people. No, so I kept playing,” said Medvedev.

The Russian tennis player was then accused of showing the middle finger to the spectators when leaving the court after the defeat.

Daniil Medvedev was asked if he was giving the middle finger to the crowd:

“Middle finger? No. I was looking at my nail. Why would I do that to this beautiful Parisian crowd?” 😂

pic.twitter.com/9k2ZRzz3fr

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 1, 2023

“I was just checking my nails, like that, nothing more. Why would I do something like that to a beautiful crowd at Bercy in Paris?” confirmed the 27-year-old player’s reputation as a biting, ironic entertainer.

But he didn’t want to throw anything at the nationality of the audience, even though he regularly has trouble in France.

“It has nothing to do with France, it depends on the tournament, it depends on how I behave and how the crowd behaves. I have a lot of French friends and they don’t like this tournament very much. I guess there is a reason for that,” said Medvedev.

Medvedev had a conflict with the French twice last fall. First in September in Métay, where he lost to Stan Wawrinka in the first round and really pissed off the local audience.

In the third set, after losing serve, his nerves rumbled and he threw his racket, for which he earned a loud negative response from the audience. He reacted even more irritated to her.

Another chapter of #Medvedev vs. The public…

🗣 “They whistle and I’m not going to play like that. You guys are stupid, stop whistling while I play. I didn’t even do anything to get whistled at.”

pic.twitter.com/RFh9AxDR2d

— Marcelo Burgos (@marceloburgosf) November 1, 2023

For tens of seconds he provoked the crowd with a series of indiscriminate gestures and gestures. He was clearly implying to the fans that they were acting like monkeys.

A month or so later in Paris, they booed him again. Medvedev lost to Alex de Minaur in the very first match, and after the match point, he didn’t even have time to reach the net and shake his opponent’s hand without losing his temper. He smashed the racket against the surface of the court in the Bercy hall and did not forgive himself a few peppery words towards the audience.

Now he admitted that he might not just return to the Bercy hall because of mutual antipathies.

“I played much better here when there were no people here during the pandemic. There are tournaments that I like to return to, but this is not it. Maybe I will take a break for two years,” said Medvedev, who already has a certain participation in the Tournament of Champions in Turin .

2023-11-02 09:42:49
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