Daniil Medvedev is known for tangling with Novak Djokovic and it seems he shared a similar experience to what is known now as Bottlegate from the Rome Open which saw a metal bottle fly out of the bag of a fan and hit the Serbian in the head.
Fans clamoured to social media to hit out at the person in question and call for police to get involved. Djokovic after he had left hospital more saw the funny side. He wore a bike helmet to practice as he was signing autographs. But Medvedev’s incident at Wimbledon resulted in a slice of history being made as famous unknown Marcus Willis who was World No.772 stunned him the day after. He went on to play Roger Federer famously in 2016 in one of the most stunning runs of all time.
“The day before was a day off,” said Medvedev who admitted it was his own fault. In Aorangi Park, I don’t think they have it now, but to come in, there is like a cage which you need to step up just a little bit. On the top there is also one thing. I didn’t look carefully, and I hit it.
“Okay, you hit your head sometimes. Doesn’t matter. Especially when you are tall,” he continued, smiling. “So usually when you hit your head, you straightaway put your arm there because you’re painful. Look on my arm, full of blood. I say, ‘I have to go to hospital,’ stitches, et cetera.”
“You always ask yourself after the match, ‘Did I lose yesterday because I hit my head or not?’” a wistful Medvedev recalls. “That’s a story which no one knew about. It’s not a bad story either, but a story that I remember, yeah.”
But while that is in the past, his hatred for clay certainly isn’t he joked as he admitted it is nothing more than practicality why he dislikes it. “When someone asks me, ‘What’s the thing you really hate about clay?’ for me it’s dirty. I don’t like. Locker rooms are dirty. When you come, you clap the shoes to get out the clay. It’s dirty. Socks, you can throw away after clay season, for sure. In your car after practice, it’s dirty. So I don’t like it.