Daniil Medvedev reacts to his on-court controversies with a cheeky remark amid complaints about low-quality tennis balls at Shanghai Masters
Daniil Medvedev responded to a meme amid his controversial remarks on low-quality tennis balls at the Shanghai Masters. The social media post also hinted at Medvedev's other controversial moments in the past.
Medvedev is currently competing in the Shanghai Masters, where he is through to the fourth round after a brilliant comeback win against Matteo Arnaldi 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
On October 6, the Russian cheekily mentioned 'needing a lifeline' while reacting to a sarcastic meme posted by a user on X (formerly Twitter):
"Definitely need to use the Lifeline option here," Daniil Medvedev wrote, resharing the meme.
Here is the post and the interaction:
Daniil Medvedev has always been vocal about his opinions and doesn't shy away from expressing himself on the court. During his second-round match against Thiago Seyboth Wild, Medvedev was critical of the tennis balls used in the Shanghai Masters, saying that they lost their quality too quickly during a match.
After his match against Arnaldi, Medvedev reiterated his criticism, claiming that these types of balls favor certain players on tour, naming Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz among them.
“I don’t think anyone is changing. I think it basically favors people who can benefit power from dead balls. Some have better quality with this. Some don’t. Actually the two best players at doing this.. they’re already the best players in the world.. and I’m sure they would be without the balls, but with these balls.. they’re the only players who can generate crazy power. It’s Jannik and Carlos. It gives them an extra edge," Medvedev said.
The Russian also made the headlines in 2023 as he remarked that the courts in Indian Wells were far from what actual hard courts should be. He insisted on taking longer toilet breaks to revolt against the allegedly slow surface in California.
"No, no, no, no, this is not a hard court, I know what is hard court, I'm a specialist, this is not a hard court," Medvedev said.
"What a shame to call this court a hardcourt. I'm going to toilet but I don't care if you give me time violation. I am going to be as slow as these courts," he added.
Daniil Medvedev was accused of showing his middle finger to the crowd in the Paris Masters last year
Daniil Medvedev found himself in the spotlight once again during a controversial interaction with the crowd at the Paris Masters in November last year. The 28-year-old secured a runner-up finish in Bercy in 2021 but hasn't been able to get past the second round in the last two years. He was eliminated by Alex De Minaur in 2022 and Grigor Dimitrov in 2023.
Medvedev was seemingly booed for his on-court behavior against Dimitrov. The Russian refused to compete amid the distraction but received a time violation from the chair umpire in return.
The match eventually ended in more boos from the crowd, as Medvedev allegedly gestured in an unpleasant manner before exiting the Accor arena. While many claimed that he showed the middle finger to the audience, the Russian later denied these accusations, saying (as quoted by The Guardian):
“I just checked my nails, like this, no really it’s nothing more than that. Why would I do that to this beautiful crowd in Paris Bercy," Daniil Medvedev said
“I threw the racket, I get booed, normal. I don’t see a problem with that. I go to serve and they applaud or something but I want to serve so they shouldn’t applaud, so I still serve and the referee was talking during this, so Grigor wasn’t ready. This happens, but I get booed, I didn’t see why so I didn’t want to play and that’s actually the end of the story," he added.