Daniil Medvedev had an angry outburst on the court during his Indian Wells third-round match against Ilya Ivashka on Sunday. A furious Medvedev made known his sheer dislike of much slower court conditions at Indian Wells, taking sarcastic aim at the same as he argued with the chair umpire.
Medvedev’s outburst drew a wide range of reactions from the tennis community, many of whom were also reminded of his many quippy mid-match remarks in the past.
The world No. 6 started the match quite strongly to win the first set 6-2 before Ivashka mounted a comeback to win the second set and level proceedings at 6-2, 3-6. Medvedev’s frustration grew as the second set progressed and it boiled over on the change of ends after the set.
When he informed chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani about going for a toilet break, he sarcastically told Lahyani that he would take his own sweet time during the break to compliment the slowness of the surface. While Lahyani urged him to accept the circumstances, Medvedev further expressed his dissent.
“I’m gonna pee as slow as this court is. So you can take 25 minutes. The court is slow so I go slow, I take my time,” Daniil Medvedev told Lahyani. I don’t accept this. They say on the fact sheet this is hard courts. This is not hard courts.”
Reacting to the same, tennis fans were amused and in disagreement with Medvedev, in equal measure.
“Oh he’s having clay flashbacks,” a fan wrote on Twitter.
“Shush and play Daniil omg. The same whining as in Madrid and Rome with the clay,” another fan expressed.
Here are more reactions from fans to the incident involving Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells:
Daniil Medvedev sets up clash with Alexander Zverev at Indian Wells
Daniil Medvedev brushed aside the angry moment in quick time to find his feet again in the deciding set against Ilya Ivashka, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to move into the Round of 16 at Indian Wells, where he will face one of his biggest rivals, Alexander Zverev. Medvedev and Zverev have shared a very competitive rivalry so far on tour, with both players having six wins apiece ahead of their 13th head-to-head clash. They have played all 12 of their previous matches on hard courts.
Medvedev will enter the match on a 16-match winning streak, which includes title wins in each of his last three tournaments. Meanwhile, Zverev, who is still on the comeback trail, earned a gritty 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 win over Emil Ruusuvuori in the third round on Sunday.
The last time the two players faced each other was at the 2021 ATP Finals, where Zverev beat Medvedev in the final to clinch his second ATP Finals crown.