Daniil Medvedev has broken his silence on his outburst on Centre Court that landed him in hot water with Wimbledon officials during his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.
The 2021 US Open champion threatened an upset against Alcaraz after winning the first-set tiebreak.
But it was a few games earlier when Medvedev was reprimanded by chair umpire for a furious outburst he made in her direction.
Umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore called ‘not up’ as Medvedev attempted to chase down a drop shot, which saw him lose serve and his advantage in the first set.
Daniil Medvedev was furious with umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore
BBC
Medvedev reacted furiously as cameras picked up the Russian lashing out at the umpire, although replays suggested it was the correct call.
Asderaki-Moore then came down from her chair and called for referee Denise Parnell and supervisor Wayne McKewen to seemingly consult about what Medvedev had said to her.
After a brief discussion, Medvedev received a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
However, the presence of both the referee and supervisor suggested a more serious punishment was potentially being discussed.
Tim Henman said on commentary: “If you use a swear word you’re going to get a code violation and a warning and a fine, but if you verbally abuse the umpire, that’s when there’s a question mark. It could be a default.”
Medvedev was asked about the incident in his post-match press conference where he revealed he said something in his native tongue.
“I don’t know if it was double bounce or not,” he said.
“I thought no. That was tricky.
Eva Asderaki-Moore called for the referee and supervisor
BBC
“The thing is that once long ago 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.”
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Daniil Medvedev eventually lost to Carlos Alcaraz
REUTERS
The first set eventually went to a tiebreak and Medvedev took the lead of the match.
Biut Alcaraz stepped up another gear after going down a set before marching back into the Wimbledon final.
He could face Novak Djokovic in a repeat of last year’s final.