Russian tennis professional Daniil Medvedev caused a stir after his early exit from the Masters 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy. As he walked off the court through the stands, he suddenly waved his right hand around – clearly visible: his extended middle finger. The fans had previously booed the 27-year-old on Wednesday evening during his 3:6, 7:6, 6:7 defeat in the round of 16 against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
“Middle finger? No, I just looked at my nails. Why should I give this fantastic French audience the middle finger?” Medvedev said smugly at the press conference afterwards. The Russian has repeatedly offended fans and opponents in the past. Olympic tennis champion Alexander Zverev once described him as “one of the most unfair players in the world”.
“I didn’t do anything”
The atmosphere between Medvedev and the fans in Paris became increasingly heated at 5:5 in the second set. The spectators loudly whistled at the 27-year-old, who had previously slammed his racket on the ground.
“They whistle, I won’t play if they whistle. You are stupid. “I didn’t do anything, but they whistled at me,” Medvedev complained to the referee and also gestured towards the fans.
After the referee asked him to go back to the pitch, Medvedev hesitated – also because the booing continued. The referee then even gave Medvedev a warning for exceeding the time limit.
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He then continued playing and managed to equalize the set. In the end, Medvedev, who also smashed another racket out of frustration in the third round, lost – and the fans cheered.
