When rain began to fall during Daniil Medvedev’s third round match against Sebastian Korda in Arantxa Sanchez Stadium at the Madrid Open on Monday, the Russian walked up to chair umpire Nacho Forcadell and asked why the roof hadn’t been utilized. After Forcadell told Medvedev that the roof would not be closed, the world No. 4, known on the ATP Tour for his rapier wit, made a funny comment.
Here is the amusing exchange between Daniil Medvedev and Forcadell in all its glory, courtesy of The Tennis Letter on X, formerly Twitter.
“I don’t make the decision. They do,” said Forcadell.
“Who are ‘they?’ The Illuminati?” Daniil Medvedev cheekily replied.
Daniil Medvedev hilarious interaction with the umpire in Madrid.
Daniil wanted the roof to be closed because it was raining.
The umpire: “I don’t make the decision. They do.”
Daniil: “Who are ‘they?’ The Illuminati?” 😂
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 29, 2024
Forcadell should have known better than to use the word “they” with Medvedev, who simply couldn’t resist giving the chair umpire a hard time over the choice of words. Kudos to Medvedev for giving tennis fans the perfect image of the Illuminati having a Monday afternoon meeting in Spain to discuss the Madrid Open roof.
Daniil Medvedev, who was a game away from losing the match in the second set, went on to defeat Korda 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
