Daniil Medvedev’s result crisis did not end even at the tournament in French Métay, the former world number one lost in the opening round for the third time this season. The Russian tennis player lost to the qualifier, experienced Stan Wawrinka, and lost his nerve in the third set.
The business in Métay, where he wanted to improve the feeling of a not very successful season, ended for the twenty-six-year-old native of Moscow after the first duel.
In a closely watched match, the top-seeded Medvedev was challenged by the former winner of three Grand Slams, Stan Wawrinka, who had to qualify for the tournament for the first time in seventeen years.
The 37-year-old Swiss, who is ranked 284th in the current ranking, played decently in Métay thanks to this and was able to defeat Medvedev in three sets after an excellent performance.
At the beginning of the final act, when he immediately got into trouble after losing his serve, the Russian player couldn’t take the crisis mentally and hurled a racket around the court, which earned him boos from the French audience.
However, he reacted even more irritated to the hostile reaction. Medvedev teased the audience for tens of seconds with a series of indiscriminate gestures and gestures. He was clearly implying to the fans that they were acting like monkeys.
Because of this, Wawrinka had to wait a long time with his serve and just shook his head in disbelief at his opponent’s behavior.
Medvedev proceeds to make fun of the French crowd – by calling them monkeys (?) – after they boo him for throwing his racket…
If there’s one thing you don’t do towards a French crowd, it’s provoke them… pic.twitter.com/ZbrfchbbKF
— Olly ???????????? (@Olly_Tennis_) September 22, 2022
Medvedev got up after the incident and caught up with the 0:3 deficit, but the last three games belonged to the Swiss owner of a phenomenal one-handed backhand.
Wawrinka came to the Met with an unpleasant streak of six defeats, but he was able to break it by winning four duels in a row. The last time he managed something similar was more than two years ago, when he dominated the Prague challenger at Štvanice. In addition, he claimed the first scalp of a player of the elite world ten since November 2020.
“Daniil is one of the best defensive tennis players, so when you play strokes without thinking it’s difficult against him. I made a few mistakes, but overall it was a good level of play from me. I’m super happy to win,” said Wawrinka.
