Daniil Medvedev was angry with a Madrid Open spectator (Image: Tennis TV)
Daniil Medvedev’s fiery temper once again boiled over in front of the masses.
Daniil Medvedev fumed at a Madrid Open spectator who seemed to grab a towel thrown towards younger members of the crowd by the tennis star. Medvedev shook his head and grabbed more towels to hand out to children after avoiding an upset in the Spanish capital
The Russian defeated Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi but it was not entirely plain-sailing for the World No. 4. Arnaldi cruised to a surprise 6-2 first-set triumph but found a rejuvenated Medvedev from the second set.
Medvedev went on to win in three sets, 2-6 6-4 6-4, and set up a last-32 tie with the American Sebastian Korda. But it was an incident after the match that appeared to wind up the third seed.
As is customary after matches, Medvedev threw his towels into a section of the crowd where young fans were waiting to have memorabilia signed. While most of them ended up in the hands of youngsters, one older member of the crowd grabbed one before it reached the children.
So at the end of Daniil's match, he threw towels at kids and some man came along and grabbed the last one. Daniil was NOT happy, went to grab more towels and handed them out to the kids. pic.twitter.com/Sm6KPfVJzI
— Delyth🏴❤️🇵🇸 (@WelshSwan) April 28, 2024
Although the man might have been trying to get a towel for a young family member positioned beside him, Medvedev was clearly unhappy at the incident. He stared at the man for several moments before sitting back down.
The 28-year-old shook his head before searching for more towels to hand to fans who missed out.
Reflecting on his victory, Medvedev was pleased that he was able to refocus after losing the first set. He claims that he decided to go back to basics at the start of the second set, helping him to go the distance.
“The first set I was missing a lot and still I had my chances, even in the first set,” Medvedev reflected. “So I’m happy that in the second set I managed to stabilise my level a little bit more, serve better, do less mistakes, win some good points.
“It was very important to hold when he had a break point in the beginning of the set. And then third set was perfect for me I think… Happy about my level and looking forward.”
Medvedev is hoping to win his first ATP title of the year in Madrid. He reached the finals of the Australian Open and Indian Wells, but fell to defeats in both matches.
