Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev looked directly into a TV camera and ranted at the audience in an on-court tantrum at the China Open on Tuesday.
The Moscow-born world No.5 was beaten 7-5 6-3 by the current Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the event in Beijing.
Medvedev was left furious at 5-5, 0-15 after the China Open electronic line judge ruled in his opponent’s favour and he then proceeded to break the fourth wall.
Speaking to the audience watching at home, Medvedev said: ‘Why (does) ATP pay Hawk-Eye then? Hawk-Eye sucks, no? Don’t trust Hawk-Eye. Not my sponsor.’
Hawk-Eye is a piece of technology used in tennis for determining if the ball is in or out, using a number of different cameras to track the position and trajectory.
Medvedev was angry that he could not see a replay of the shot which went against him, which led to him shouting at the TV camera.
It is not the first time this year that Medvedev has suffered an on-court meltdown while playing against Alcaraz.
The 28-year-old avoided a Wimbledon default in his semi-final against the Spanish world No.3 in July after a foul-mouthed rant at the umpire.
Medvedev lost his head when a call from Eva Asderaki-Moore saw him lose serve and ultimately fail to serve out the opening set of the match, with the umpire ruling that he did not return a drop shot before it bounced twice.
He angrily shouted swear words towards the umpire, which delayed the match as the supervisor and the tournament referee were called to the court.
Medvedev was not disqualified in the end but was slapped with a warning for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ at the All England Club.
‘If you use a swear word you’re going to get a code violation and a warning and a fine, but if you verbally abuse the umpire, that’s when there’s a question mark,’ former British No.1 Tim Henman told the BBC. ‘It could be a default.
‘Just from where we’re sitting to see the umpire get down off the umpire’s chair, to see the umpire and the supervisor to go on the court, that doesn’t happen unless something has gone on.’
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