Daniil Medvedev threw his racquet in anger during his match at the 2024 Laver Cup, and according to former ATP player, Andy Roddick, it was a worse offence than Novak Djokovic‘s US Open default.
A couple of years ago, Djokovic made headlines around the world when he was defaulted from the US Open after accidentally hitting a line umpire. It was a freak incident in which the Serbian player, frustrated after losing a point, angrily hit a ball, which ended up striking a line umpire.
Shocked by the outcome, Djokovic quickly rushed to help, not immediately realising the consequences. Although it was a reckless move, Djokovic didn’t expect to be defaulted from the match.
He tried to plead his case, but the umpire explained that according to the rules, hitting an official, even unintentionally, results in a default. As a result, Djokovic was disqualified from the event, which many expected him to win.
Dominic Thiem went on to win the US Open, while Djokovic had to accept his fate. However, since then, there have been a few incidents involving racquet throws that were arguably more dangerous, yet nothing significant occurred in terms of consequences.
One such incident happened recently at the Laver Cup, when Medvedev threw his racquet in frustration. While the Russian didn’t directly throw it at the crowd, he slammed it to the ground, and it bounced toward the stands.
Fortunately, no one was injured, but the situation could have been far worse. Medvedev himself admitted after the match that it was a terrible decision, and he was fortunate to avoid a default.
Ben Shelton, Medvedev’s opponent, urged the umpire to consider the seriousness of the action. Frances Tiafoe also approached the umpire to argue the point, but the umpire explained that if the racquet had struck someone, then Medvedev would have been defaulted.
“Frances, it bounced and it didn’t hit anyone. The result was not bad. If it had hit someone, I’d agree with you.”
Leave a Reply