Daniil Medvedev was quick to give an umpire at the Shanghai Masters a piece of his mind when he was handed a code violation for taking his time to return. The Russian secured a 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 win over Learner Tien in the tournament’s round of 16 on Wednesday, but the match wasn’t without its controversy.
The tennis ace was given a code violation for a lengthy service routine, before snapping at Mohammed Lahyani during a break in play – claiming that Rafael Nadal was known for taking his time with serves across the entirety of his career. Speaking to the umpire during the match, the 29-year-old said: “You don’t care that all my life I’ve been serving and waiting for Rafa for 55 seconds. And you give me a code violation on the first occasion, huh?
“I played Rafa five times. There was not one time I was ready to serve and he was ready to return. He didn’t get a time violation. Why do I get a time violation?
“To me, today, at the slightest thing you give it to me. I always waited to return, and you didn’t give it to him. You’re crazy. Completely crazy.”
However, Medvedev wasn’t alone in his opinion that Nadal should take his time during games without receiving penalisation. The comments section of a clip of the interaction between Medvedev and Lahyani posted on social media was flooded with tennis fans also calling out double standards.
One wrote: “Medvedev is not wrong though,” while another added: “[Denis] Shapovalov said the same thing about Nadal at AO22. Either the rules apply equally for all or they don’t apply to anyone!”
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A third claimed: “He’s spot on there. Rafa played the system and the officials were too scared to do anything,” while a fourth said: “He’s only saying facts. Rafa always got away with slow playing.”
Speaking after his win, meanwhile, Medvedev reflected on the tough test that was provided by Tien during their encounter. Asked about what conversation he held with his team during the match, he said: “Zero, zero. It doesn’t help.
“I should be more calm. Learner drives me nuts. He’s an unbelievable tennis player. I lost two very strong matches against him, so for sure I was scared to lose again.
“I’m really happy that I managed to cross the finish line. The match was up-and-down, but I’m very happy that I managed to win.”
Thanks to his win, Medvedev now advances to the quarter-finals of the tournament, where he will face ATP No. 7, Alex de Minaur. Holger Rune, Valentin Vacherot, Zizou Bergs, Novak Djokovic, Arthur Rinderknech and Felix Auger Aliassime also remain in the tournament.
