Daniil Medvedev was knocked out of Wimbledon in the semi-final for the second consecutive year (Image: (Image: Getty))
Daniil Medvedev was involved in a controversial moment during his Wimbledon semi-final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz but was a much calmer figure when asked about it
Daniil Medvedev did not blame the chair umpire for the double bounce incident against Carlos Alcaraz, amid the suggestion he broke the ‘unwritten rule of tennis’ after being handed a court violation.
Medvedev was knocked out of Wimbledon in the semi-finals by Carlos Alcaraz for the second time in two years. The No.5 seed won the first set on a tie break but was blown away by the Spaniard, who won the next three sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
The flash point of the match came when Alcaraz broke Medvedev’s serve with the Russian leading the first set 5-3. The Spaniard managed this with a slick drop shot, that was scooped back over by the 28-year-old, only for his return to be deemed a double bounce.
Medvedev let out a furious tirade at chair umpire Eva Asderaki, who gave him a court violation and was also reportedly not too far away from disqualifying the Russian
It was later suggested that Medvedev may have broken the ‘unwritten rule of tennis’, which dictates that players must own up to a double bounce when it happens. Yet, Medvedev banished any suggestions of this, claiming it was so close that he genuinely didn’t know if it did.
In his press conference, Medvedev said: “I don’t know if it was a double bounce or not. I thought no. That was tricky. The thing is that once long ago at Roland Garros against [Marin] Cilic I lost, and she didn’t see that was one bounce. So I had this in my mind. I thought, again, against me. I said something in Russian, not unpleasant, but not over the line. So I got a code for it.”
When asked by Clare Balding if Medvedev had broken the gentlemanly rule of double bounces, former British No.1 Tim Henman said: “We saw that in slow motion and it was difficult to see.
“There is every reason to think that Medvedev thought that he had got that ball back up. But he definitely said something to the umpire. When you look at that, that was not easy to see for the umpire and it’s not necessarily easy for Medvedev to know in such a big moment.”
While sympathising with the Russian’s protests, Henman claimed Alcaraz was the superior player. He said: “I’m not sure what was said for the umpire to come down of the chair and the tournament referee and the supervisor to come on the court.
“But Medvedev did well to get their first set and he was a little bit more aggressive. But, for me, the match was always on Alcaraz’s racquet. You felt he had the skillset to change things up.”
Alcaraz will take on Novak Djokovic in the final on Centre Court for the second consecutive year after the Serbian overcame Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-final.
