Daniil Medvedev had a very questionable moment during the 2024 Laver Cup when he threw his racket dangerously, which might have caused a default at any regular event.
Medvedev faced Ben Shelton on the third day of the 2024 Laver Cup in Berlin in a must-win match for both teams. It was quite a competitive match, and Shelton was giving the former ATP World No. 1 a lot of trouble.
During the first-set tie-break, the Russian became visibly frustrated and, in a moment of poor judgment, threw his racket. Medvedev is no stranger to throwing his racket or generally making a scene, but sometimes, he does it in a very unfortunate way.
He can throw it carelessly, which is what happened at the Laver Cup as the racket bounced towards the stands. Had it hit someone, he would have been likely defaulted from the match.
Even such a reckless throw might have led to a default in a regular match, but very likely due to the nature of the Laver Cup, he was forgiven, and he understands that he got very lucky.
The umpire was Mohamed Lahyani, and he didn’t sanction Medvedev, even though there was a very good reason to do so. Shelton even pointed out to the umpire what Medvedev had done, and to his credit, the Russian admitted after the match that it was a terrible thing to do.
He didn’t shy away from his actions, acknowledging that while he did intend to throw the racket, he didn’t mean for it to bounce the way it did, as it could have been dangerous
“I didn’t want to throw it the way I threw it. I mean, I didn’t want — I wanted to throw it, like, on one place, so it was horrible from me. I got lucky. I didn’t touch anyone. When you don’t touch anyone in tennis, you don’t get a disqualification. So that’s it. I got, yeah, should not do this.”
Bounces like that are generally why players are urged or asked to restrain themselves in such moments on the courts. Sometimes, odd bounces happen, and somebody could get hurt.
Medvedev has certainly, over the years, had moments that serve as ‘warnings’ that he shouldn’t behave this way, but at times, he simply doesn’t handle his emotions in the best manner.
He’s spoken about it as something he doesn’t like and wants to change, but at times, he still gets overwhelmed. Ultimately, Shelton had the last laugh as he was able to win the match in three sets.
Medvedev didn’t have any further outburst episodes during the rest of the match, as he managed to control his emotions better. However, the final laugh went to Team Europe as they were able to win the event 13-11.
Medvedev lost both of his matches and nearly defaulted in the second one, but he still won the trophy and the payout, making it a good week for him.
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