The Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev, who has won three titles in a magnificent start to 2023, came back from the match against the German Alexander Zverev and will face the Spanish Alejandro Davidovich in the Indian Wells quarterfinals.
However, the 27-year-old’s victory was marred by an episode that featured him and for which he tried to apologize before leaving the pitch. During the first bars of the confrontation, Medvedev repeatedly complained about the surface.
“This court is a disgrace for tennis (…). And they call it hard court? What a shame to call this horrible court a hard court!” the Russian yelled after losing the first set to Alexander Zverev 6-7(5). Despite the fact that he managed to turn the result around (6-7 (5), 7-6 (5) and 7-5 in 3 hours and 17 minutes), the current number 6 in the world pointed against the organization of the tournament.
In one of the breaks, he told the referee that he would walk to the bathroom as slowly as the track itself and assured that he did not care if they penalized him for it.
“If they allow us to play on such a court, I can afford to do whatever I want,” defended the tennis player, who continued with his particular comedy ‘show’ walking shamelessly slowly on the way to the toilet. “This is not a fast track. I know what a fast track is. I am a specialist, ”he added in another of the breaks.
Finally, after the complaints came the scare for the Russian tennis player after suffering a setback that could have ended in injury. He was playing the sixth game of the second set when he sprained his ankle and collapsed on the ground to the concern of all those present in the venue.
The tournament’s medical services worked on an ankle that seemed inflamed and, fortunately, Medvedev was able to return to center court at Indian Wells to sign a great comeback against a very unfortunate Zverev to close the ‘break’ (he only converted 2 of the 17 balls that he had to break his rival’s serve).
It should be noted that once his victory was consummated, he reflected on his performance and his anger: “There are guys like Cam Norrie, I don’t know if Alcaraz likes to play here, but Norrie definitely loves playing here, what would he say, why do we change the tracks ?, and he’s right. We can’t change them because I don’t like it. Here, speaking calmly, I understand it and I don’t like my behavior on the track. I think it actually distracts me and it would be better to just shut up and play. That is what I must do. But at the same time, that’s who I am.”
Seeded fifth from Indian Wells and the only one capable of defeating world number one Serbian Novak Djokovic so far this year, Medvedev has not lost a match in 2023 since losing in the third round of the Australian Open. Thus, Medvedev has consecutively won the tournaments in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai.
In the Indian Wells quarterfinals, he will face Davidovich, who beat Chilean Cristian Garín 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in one hour and 24 minutes.
