Daniil Medvedev involved in heated argument with chair umpire; receives code violation during Cincinnati Open 2R loss
Daniil Medvedev's second-round loss at the ongoing 2024 Cincinnati Open produced a moment of controversy. The Russian was given a code violation by the chair umpire Aurelie Tourte for allegedly using foul language, following which he engaged in a heated exchange with the Frenchwoman.
Medvedev faced Jiri Lehecka in the second round of the Masters 1000 event after receiving a first-round bye owing to his No. 4 seeding. The pair played out a hard-fought first set, with Lehecka eventually clinching it 7-6(2).
The Czech came out on top in the second set as well, winning it 6-4 to hand the World No. 5 his second successive defeat in a tournament's opening match, having suffered a similar fate in Montreal last week.
The controversial moment came in the second and decisive set of the match, when a clearly incensed Medvedev appeared to be venting his frustrations in French. Soon, chair umpire Aurelie Tourte gave the Russian a code violation. The former World No. 1 bemoaned the decision, suggesting that he was only talking to himself.
"Why are you giving me a code violation? I'm talking to myself. What's the problem? In the other match, when I was talking to myself, you didn't do anything. I'm speaking to myself.. what's the problem?" Medvedev asked Tourte.
However, the Frenchwoman stood by her decision and told Daniil Medvedev that she had heard what he had said.
Daniil Medvedev's form a major concern in the buildup to the US Open 2024
Over the years, Medvedev has established himself as one of the most dominant players on hard courts. However, despite being widely regarded as a hardcourt specialist, his form heading into the 2024 US Open is sure to be a concern for him and his team.
The Russian's early exit from the Cincinnati Open comes on the back of his second-round loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the recently-concluded National Bank Open in Montreal, another ATP Masters 1000 event.
There was a controversial incident during his loss to Davidovich Fokina as well, which saw the Russian's request to take a toilet break rejected. Medvedev later opened up about the incident at a press conference.
"It was a problem because I couldn't go out. I had to go out after the second set because I had forgotten that walking to the toilets is a very long walk here. It's more than two minutes, and it's far from Center Court. I had to go out because I had waited too long being inactive, so I thought that I could do it during the set, but the rule is not clear to me. Sometimes they let me go during the set. I know normally you have to do that within one hour and a half of the changeover," Medvedev said.
Daniil Medvedev boasts an impressive record at the US Open. The Russian finished as the runner-up to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the 2019 and 2023 editions of the prestigious hard-court Major and won it in 2021 by defeating Djokovic in the final.