'I almost broke my hand!' - Furious Daniil Medvedev kicks camera lens after nasty collision, yells at umpire
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Updated 22/08/2021 at 10:15 GMT
The fiery Russian kicked the camera lens in frustration, then complained he "nearly broke his hand" after colliding with the broadcast equipment at the back of the court. After Medvedev demanded the camera be immediately removed, the umpire could only explain that he wasn't able to make that decision during the match, with Andrey Rublev ending up the victor in Cincinnati.
'I almost broke my hand!' - Medvedev furious after hitting camera, kicks lens
A furious Daniil Medvedev kicked a camera lens after a nasty collision at the back of the court during his defeat to Andrey Rublev in Cincinnati.
The shocking incident occurred during the second set of his 2-6 6-3 6-3 loss to compatriot Rublev at the Western and Southern Open - one of the warm-up events for the final Grand Slam of the season, the US Open.
As Medvedev raced behind the baseline to retrieve a groundstroke, he suffered a wince-inducing contact with the camera, which knocked it to the ground. After checking that the camera operator was okay and bumping fists with him, the Russian expressed his anger at the umpire.
With the official having charged down onto court from his chair to check everyone was okay, Medvedev let rip with his frustration at the collision as he remonstrated for several minutes.
The fiery Russian kicked the lens in frustration, then complained he "nearly broke his hand" in the incident. He then demanded that the camera be removed, with the umpire having to calm him down and insist that he could not make such a decision mid-match.
"You really want to keep it? Take it away!" Medvedev yelled at the umpire.
I almost broke my hand! Take it away! Take it away! I almost broke my hand! You don't care about players? You don't care?
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The world number two proceeded to take a medical timeout to check on the condition of his hand, but returned to play out the match in what turned out to be a defeat.
The incident did appear to have a bearing on the match as the momentum shifted and Rublev subsequently claimed his maiden win over his countryman.
“The match was so intense, so many long rallies, super tough, super physical, super mental. A lot like a chess match,” Rublev told the ATP website after the match.
Medvedev is one of those players who won’t give you a chance to attack, but if I have enough power and chose the right moment, I have to be the one to make him run. In the end, I was trying to find the perfect moment to start being more aggressive to open the angles.
Rublev will take on Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in the final following the German's thrilling comeback win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Zverev looked down and out when trailing by a double break in the final set, but he found reserves to claim a 6-4 3-6 7-6(4) win.
Medvedev is considered one of the favourites for the upcoming US Open, particularly given the recent spate of high-profile withdrawals with Dominic Thiem, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer among the stars to have already pulled out.
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