- Medvedev suffered a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Alcaraz on Centre Court
- The outburst came when umpire Eva Asderaki had called ‘not up’ in the first set
- A warning for verbal abuse was issued with tournament referee on the court
Daniil Medvedev appeared lucky to escape being defaulted out of Wimbledon after what seemed to be a volley of foul-mouthed abuse at umpire Eva Asderaki.
The Russian was broken when serving for the first set against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, and on the final point umpire Asderaki called ‘not up’ as the ball bounced twice before Medvedev could reach it.
The No 5 seed responded and during the changeover Asderaki called supervisor Wayne McKewen and tournament referee Danise Parnell to the court, and the three had a lengthy discussion which delayed the resumption of the match.
In the end they decided to only issue a warning for verbal abuse, rather than throwing Medvedev out of the tournament and ending the first men’s semi-final after less than a set.
Tim Henman, commentating for the BBC, said: ‘It’s probably more around verbal abuse. 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. Just from where we’re sitting to see the umpire get down off the umpire’s chair, to see the umpire and the supervisor to go on the court, that doesn’t happen unless something has gone on.’