Taylor Fritz changed his hairstyle, and his fortunes changed with it. The American bounced back from his disappointing early exit at the Paris Masters by winning the ATP Finals opener in straight sets. But the game wasn’t about him. Instead, it focused on his opponent, Daniil Medvedev, and his on-court antics.
Medvedev, a player known for losing his cool on the court, was at it again. The Russian star’s infamous meltdowns attracted all the spotlight. You read that correctly! The 28-year-old experienced several meltdowns and was lucky not to be defaulted.
What began as a closely fought battle quickly went out of control toward the end of the opening set. With Fritz up 5-4 (15-30), Medvedev was serving to stay in the set. Remarkably, the World No.4 committed three double faults in a row, handing the set to the American.
Medvedev was furious and smashed his racket on the ground. Things didn’t get much better for him after that, as he lost his serve in the second set, falling behind 2-4. At this point, the Russian lost his head as he kept tossing the racket in the air and failed to catch it as it repeatedly fell on the court.
Medvedev doing his things in Turin pic.twitter.com/JI6Hvz3y7U
— Tennis Masterr (@tennismasterr) November 10, 2024
There was a moment when he threw his racket away and broke a courtside microphone, resulting in a point penalty. That was not the end of it all.
When Fritz led 4-2 (40-0) in his serve, Medvedev was surprisingly holding the racket upside down on its head. It was understandably met with loud jeers from the crowd, forcing the chair umpire to intervene to restore order. By the time Fritz delivered his serve, he had properly held the racket back.
Medvedev won one more game in that set, but Fritz, who recently got rid of his blonde look to go back to his usual style, closed it out to win the match 6-4, 6-3. Despite Fritz’s impressive win, the post-match press conference was largely focused on Medvedev’s outburst.
Daniil Medvedev wants the season to end soon
Medvedev boldly claimed that he is “tired of fighting it” and wants the season to finish quickly. When asked if he was simply hoping for this year to end, the Russian responded,
“100%. It’s the first time I say it. But like I always fight. As I said, since long time I fight with something that doesn’t depend on myself. I’m a good fighter. But now I’m tired to fight it. I’m tired to fight against something that doesn’t depend on myself. I’ll see how it goes. Today actually I had my chances. I’ll have them the next matches. If it doesn’t work out, I go on holiday. I’m happy.”
Daniil Medvedev expresses his frustration with the balls & says he feels zero pleasure being on the court these days
“Were you surprised the way Taylor was staying in the long, long rallies, winning a lot of those long rallies?”
Daniil: “Not at all. The balls make that… pic.twitter.com/cU9cwH18qU
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 10, 2024
This is not the first time the Russian has been in trouble for his behavior. During a 2024 Laver Cup match against Ben Shelton, a frustrated Medvedev threw his racket into the stands, just missing the camerawoman. Despite protests from the opposite camp, the Russian was lucky to stay on the court.
Even after narrowly avoiding default, Medvedev clearly didn’t learn his lesson and threw his racket again in the ATP Tour Finals. Fortunately, it did not strike anyone this time either. But there could come a time when he might run out of fortune.
One thing is certain – this is not how Medvedev would have wanted to start the year-end tournament. It is unclear how he will approach his next group game against Alex de Minaur. But Medvedev would very much want it to be remembered for his performance rather than his antics.
