Why Daniil Medvedev Thought About Quitting During Rafael Nadal Semi-Final – Angry Video Surfaces
Daniil Medvedev almost quit during his semi-final match against Rafael Nadal at the Shanghai Masters, just weeks after Novak Djokovic got upset over a call involving Medvedev.
Djokovic was angry about a “stupid” rule change in their quarter-final at the China Open. He couldn’t believe the umpire, Adel Nour, let Medvedev replay a point even though he didn’t stop his serve to ask for it. Djokovic ended up winning after Medvedev was disqualified for accidentally hitting a ball into the crowd. Medvedev quickly apologized but has since faced more drama in Shanghai.
In the semi-final, Medvedev got frustrated at 4-2, 40-40 in the first set when a shot from Nadal was called in, but then Medvedev’s return was called out. Video replay showed Medvedev’s shot was just a little long. Not happy with that, he asked to review Nadal’s shot, thinking it was out. The umpire said they could only review the last shot of the rally, which led to a tense exchange.
The umpire explained, “We can only show the last shot, Daniil. That one was in. We can’t show the others.” Medvedev argued back, wanting to see the earlier shot, and even threatened to retire from the match if they didn’t show it.
After some back-and-forth, Medvedev was finally shown the replay, which confirmed he lost the point fairly.
Former player Naomi Broady and presenter Jonathan Overend shared their surprise at Medvedev’s strong reaction during the Sky Sports broadcast. Broady said she’d like to see him follow through on his retirement threat, while Overend explained Medvedev was asking to see the second-to-last shot, but it wasn’t allowed. They both felt his threat was a bit over the top.
Medvedev eventually lost the match 6-3, 6-4 to the 20-year-old Nadal, who will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final tomorrow.