Daniil Medvedev was forced to call the physio to court as soon as he sealed victory at the Monte-Carlo Masters. The world No. 11 survived a rollercoaster match against Karen Khachanov, winning 7-5 4-6 6-4 in just under three hours. After booking his spot in the second round, Medvedev appeared to start cramping up and he hobbled to the net for the handshake.
The Russian rushed over to his bench and sat down, grabbing his thigh as he asked the umpire to call the physio. Medvedev continued to groan in pain when the trainer came over to massage his thigh.
Medvedev was made to work to earn his first win on the clay this season. The ninth seed led 5-1 in the opening set before Khachanov staged a comeback, but Medvedev still took it 7-5. Then, leading by a break in set two, he lost four games in a row and was taken to a decider.
The Russian rivals continued to break each other throughout the decided. Medvedev failed to serve it out but he got one final break to book his spot in the second round after two hours and 51 minutes on court.
And there was more drama after the final ball was hit as Medvedev could be seen limping to the net to shake hands with Khachanov. The former world No. 1 was clearly struggling – he slumped into his bench and asked for the physio.
“He’s cramped up here completely and he’s just looking at the muscle on his leg that is cramping up and he is asking for the physio to come out to court,” commentator Mikey Perera said.
“F***ing hell,” Medvedev exclaimed in pain as he continued to grab his thigh. When the trainer came over, the world No. 11 explained that the issue started “two points, two points before the match [ended].”
The treatment only made the pain worse, as the 2021 US Open winner continued to grunt and groan in discomfort before attempting to stand up.
“It’s amazing he got through those last couple of points, he had to work hard to get through them, there was plenty to be done,” co-commentator Miles Maclagan added.
The pain eventually subsided and Medvedev was able to complete his post-match interview. “I practised very well before the tournament, I practised better than I played today even if I played well,” he said after his first match of the clay swing.
“It’s my first match on clay, it’s not my favourite surface so just some important points, some shot decisions was not good enough but I’m happy to win.
“I watched matches today on clay and there were a lot of breaks, all of them up-and-down. I think Karen didn’t hit one ace, maybe once, and he’s a big server. So it was pretty slow but happy with my level in general.”
Apart from the cramping issues, Medvedev appears to be back on track after suffering from food poisoning in Doha and raising back injury fears in Miami. He added: “I mean, actually, I’ve been unlucky with Doha and Miami because Miami I was feeling better and better throughout the season, Doha I was feeling better and better during the tournament, but it’s okay, it’s part of tennis.
“We play 20 tournaments around the world, everything happens and we saw it this year with many players, it’s always a little bit tricky. But I’m feeling good, I came back. I actually was a bit scared after Miami because I was actually not feeling well there. Did the tests, nothing.
“So just couple of days of rest and was good to go. So happy about it, had a long preparation for clay, first time in probably five, six years, and it helped me to play good today.”
