Coco Gauff's ex-coach Brad Gilbert reacts to Daniil Medvedev escaping default after Laver Cup outburst; urges players to take Andy Roddick's advice
Coco Gauff’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert was shocked by Daniil Medvedev’s outburst at the 2024 Laver Cup. The American coach urged players to take Andy Roddick’s advice when it came to expressing their frustrations during a match.
Medvedev registered his second straight defeat at the Laver Cup on Sunday, September 22, losing to Ben Shelton 6-7 (6), 7-5, 10-7 following his defeat to Frances Tiafoe the previous day.
During the tense first-set tiebreak against Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, who claimed he was playing “the worst tennis of his life,” had an outburst. The Russian eventually won the set but furiously threw his racket toward the stands during a tense moment, narrowly escaping the staff and spectators.
Despite his rage, he only received a warning, which was frowned upon by the tennis world, including Team World’s Frances Tiafoe, Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Ben Shelton, who were pushing for disqualification.
As Tiafoe engaged in a heated argument with the Laver Cup officials over the no-default decision, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani explained that Daniil Medvedev escaped harsh consequences because his racket “didn’t hit anyone.”
"Frances, it bounced and it didn’t hit anyone. The result was not bad. If it had hit someone, I’d agree with you," Lahyani was heard as saying.
Coco Gauff’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert shared his take on the drama, calling the former World No. 1 “lucky” to have avoided default. He also opined that the rules should be re-examined.
"Meddy Bear (Daniil Medvedev) was pretty lucky in that racket Chuck, maybe at some point his rule needs to be relooked at more closely then umpires referee decisions," he wrote on X.
Laver Cup isn't the first time that Daniil Medvedev has invited controversy over his acts of frustration. Like him, several other ATP players have faced varying consequences for their outbursts.
In that regard, Gilbert urged the players to watch Andy Roddick’s “tutorial” on how to “throw a racket.”
"1st of all players need to be way more careful and need rewatch (Andy Roddick) tutorial on throwing a racket or firing a ball in anger," Brad Gilbert, who previously coached Roddick, opined.
In the video, the former US Open champion, who also had his fair share of on-court controversies, hilariously demonstrated the best way to let out frustration without potentially harming others.
Watch Andy Roddick's video here:
"When we go through the rules, there's a lack of understanding" – What Andy Roddick said about Daniil Medvedev escaping default at Wimbledon 2024
Daniil Medvedev also landed in trouble during his 2024 Wimbledon semifinal against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
During the match, the Russian lashed out at the chair umpire after a controversial line call. His expletive-ridden outburst caused an uproar in the tennis community, with many, yet again, questioning how the 2021 US Open champion escaped default.
Andy Roddick, too, was surprised by the leniency and called out the varying rules.
"You can’t say ‘F**k you, f**k you, f**k you, you piece of sh*t,’ 10 feet from the umpire and not get defaulted," he said on Served with Andy Roddick podcast.
The American opined that the occasion's significance influenced the no-default decision, which he believed damaged the credibility of rules in tennis.
"By the rule – now I am happy he didn’t; I get the context (but) this is why tennis, when we go through the rules, there’s a lack of understanding when you leave it up to judgement and that judgement changes based on the moment, it’s kind of a fake rule," he said.
"If he was in second round of Miami an says to the umpire, 'FU, FU, FU, you piece of sh*t,' gone, gone!" he added.