Daniil Medvedev defended Denis Shapovalov after his controversial default.
Daniil Medvedev has claimed the ATP “don’t know where they are going” as he became the latest player to defend Denis Shapovalov after his controversial default.
Canadian star Shapovalov was defaulted from his Washington quarter-final encounter versus Ben Shelton last week following an altercation with a member of the crowd.
The default came despite the uncertainty of what had been said to him to provoke a response, what his response had been – and the fact that Shelton was already three match points up at the time.
Shapovalov has been widely defended by fellow ATP pros, and the ATP has since announced that he was not being stripped of prize money or ranking points – though would still be fined for a code violation.
When asked about the incident ahead of his Canadian Open campaign, former world No 1 Medvedev also backed Shapovalov.
The 2021 US Open champion further claimed the ATP needed to make things “clearer” for players, and accused them of making tennis too much like “Formula 1 or football” regarding crowd behaviour.
“For me, Denis should not have been disqualified,” said Medvedev.
“With what we hear on TV, it would have deserved a warning and maybe a fine after the match, but that’s all, so I was really very surprised.
“I think that at the moment the ATP is doing good things and things less good, but I have the impression that they don’t know where they are going.
“They [the ATP] want to be like Formula 1 and football. But in this case, you can’t ask the players to stay calm like robots, when around them it’s the circus and the show.
“Things need to be clearer for the players and for the spectators.”
Medvedev will discover on Wednesday who he faces in round two of the Masters 1000 event in Toronto, having received an opening bye as one of the top eight seeds.
The third seed will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or compatriot Roman Safiullin – who he is playing doubles with at the event.
Shapovalov, meanwhile, takes on US qualifier Brandon Nakashima in his first match since the controversy.
The 25-year-old released a statement earlier this week saying he was “shocked and disappointed” by the incident – and was appealing a fine handed against him.
He said: “I continue to feel shocked and disappointed over the decision to disqualify me from my match against Ben in Washington. It was not fair to me, him or anyone that was there to watch the match.
“I of course immediately submitted my appeal to the ATP and I am pleased and thankful with the quick decision to reinstate my points and prize money.
“I must state however that I do not agree with the hefty fine I was given, which is more than half the prize money I earned last week, and will continue to fight that.”
