Dangerous racket throw Medvedev loses his nerve at the Laver Cup and almost injures a photographer
At the Laver Cup in Berlin on Sunday, there was a dangerous racket throw and much discussion. Tennis hotspur Daniil Medvedev once again takes center stage, almost hitting a photographer with his racket.
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- Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev loses his nerve at the Laver Cup in Berlin and throws a racket into the audience.
- The tennis hotspur almost hits a photographer.
- Medvedev only receives a warning for the action. The opposing team does not agree.
The Laver Cup is actually a big show event. The best European tennis players compete against "Team World" and are supposed to showcase the sport in a new light with lots of teamwork, shared emotions and an exciting show. But in the end, the Laver Cup is also about winning, as the duel between Daniil Medvedev and Ben Shelton showed on Sunday.
In the tie-break of the first round, the hot-blooded Russian hit an important ball out of bounds, giving the American two set points. Medvedev is so angry about the missed point that he throws his racket away with full force (see video above). Not anywhere, however, but directly towards the crowd.
He aims at the ground in front of him, but the racket hits the ground once and then shoots at high speed over the railing at the edge of the court. A photographer just manages to dodge it before the racket bounces off a railing and back again. Medvedev briefly holds up his hand apologetically and then simply carries on playing.
The fact that the referee only gives him a warning sends Team Welt into a rage. Opponent Ben Shelton is left open-mouthed on the court, while coach John McEnroe and team-mate Frances Tiafoe rage on the sidelines.
No disqualification
After Medvedev secures the first set in extremis, McEnroe and Tiafoe complain loudly to the umpire and demand that the Russian be disqualified. The rules are simple: clear unsportsmanlike conduct should actually be punished by disqualification. However, the referee apparently did not assess the situation as such.
And Medvedev himself? He is mainly concerned with himself. "I'm playing the worst tennis of my life," he grumbles loudly on the bench, seemingly having already forgotten about the photographer. When Tiafoe runs towards the European bench and wants to confront Medvedev personally, the latter only has a weary smile for his opponent's complaints.
In the end, the Russian loses 7:6, 5:7 and 7:10 despite leading the set 1:0. Because of the defeat, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev then have to win the Laver Cup for Team Europe. They win their matches against Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe and secure the 13:11 victory against Team World in dramatic fashion.
