- Published
Daniil Medvedev once said you would need to knock on his hotel door at 6am for seven days in a row to make him angry.
asserted
him → publish → row
On court, though, he is a far more combustible character who finally ran out of chances when he was disqualified from Monday's China Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic.
asserted
he → run → Djokovic
Djokovic was serving for a place in the final when the ball ricocheted off the back of the court.
asserted
ball → serve → court
Medvedev swiped it into the stands, where it hit a spectator in the face.
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it → swipe → face
A few minutes later the Russian was defaulted, as he had to be, under rules that bar a player from "hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly, or with negligent disregard of the consequences."
Players have got away with worse.
asserted
Players → default → worse
There is sometimes anger in their actions, but it is rarely of the bulging-neck-vein variety.
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it → be → variety
It is more often a sign of irritation and petulance, with frustrations taken out on the ball with little care for the safety of officials, ball kids and the spectators who line the court.
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who → take → court
"I can only say I'm a really calm person in life - I actually have no idea why the demons go out when I play tennis," Medvedev said at the 2019 US Open, where he was fined for snatching a towel from a ball person and making an offensive gesture to fans inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
asserted
he → say → Stadium
"Especially when I was a junior, I had a lot of problems with my attitude.
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I → have → attitude
"I was not getting defaulted, but to have a game penalty was easy.
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have → default → penalty
Returning to the theme at that year's end-of-season ATP Finals, Medvedev said any bad blood soon disappears after leaving the court.
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blood → return → court
"All my temper goes away after I leave the tennis court.
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I → go → court
If I'm not happy with my practice, I step out of the court and five minutes later, I'm OK," he said.
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he → step → court
It is hard - and probably unwise - to take your eyes off Medvedev's matches, and he is very popular with the media for his engaging, reflective and humorous interviews once the dust has settled.
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dust → take → interviews
But he has gone too far on court on many occasions, with much of his aggression directed at umpires.
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much → go → umpires
At Wimbledon in 2017, a 21-year-old Medvedev was so incensed about some of the decisions made by umpire Mariana Alves in his second-round match that he sprinkled coins at her feet as she climbed down from the chair.
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she → make → chair
He later apologised and denied he was accusing her of bias.
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he → apologise → bias
Two years ago, again at Wimbledon, it appeared officials were considering defaulting Medvedev for an outburst towards umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore.
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officials → appear → Moore
Medvedev claimed he said something in Russian which was "not pleasant, but not over the line" - and, after a discussion between the umpire, supervisor and tournament referee, he escaped with a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
asserted
he → claim → conduct
He was fined more than £60,000 for his behaviour at the 2025 Australian Open, which included trying to destroy a net camera, and had an infamous meltdown later that year at the US Open.
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which → fin → Open
On a rowdy New York night, Benjamin Bonzi had match point for a straight-set win against Medvedev in the first round when a photographer inexplicably walked on to court between his first and second serves.
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photographer → have → serves
Umpire Greg Allensworth awarded the Frenchman another first serve because of the delay, sparking fury from Medvedev.
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Allensworth → award → Medvedev
Medvedev accused Allensworth of hoping to engineer a quick finish - as he gets paid by the match, rather than the hour - and there was a pause of over five minutes as he whipped up the crowd.
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he → accuse → crowd
He did save the match point, but went on to lose in five sets before obliterating his racquet by smashing it repeatedly against the table next to his chair.
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He → save → chair
Medvedev will lose all the prize money and ranking points he earned from his run to the semi-finals in Beijing.
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he → lose → Beijing
He remains in the eighth and final qualifying spot for November's ATP Finals, but the loss of 200 points could yet prove crucial.
uncertain
loss → remain → points
The 30-year-old has apologised for his actions and said he hopes to say sorry to the spectator in person.
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he → apologise → person
In New York a month ago, Medvedev reflected on the role of genetics when explaining how his eldest daughter has "my personality on the court".
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daughter → reflect → court
"She plays a bit.
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She → play → bit
She enjoys it.
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She → enjoy → it
Maybe it's a bit of a genetic somewhere there," Medvedev added.
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Medvedev → add → genetic
"I took her to practice once.
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I → take → practice
She's happy, so she throws the racquet through the whole court.
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she → throw → court
"The coach looks at me and says: 'I don't know where she got this from...'
"All the people that talk about that I should control myself more - she's three years old.
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she → look → myself
It's not like we taught her to do the things she's doing on the court."
asserted
she → teach → court
The Aporia
