Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Jodar’s Shanghai Masters semifinal was steeped in controversy after the Russian star lambasted officials after a controversial call.
Medvedev was unhappy with a call from the electronic line calling and demanded to see the shot back up on the screen.
However, the shot in question happened mid-point rather than at the end of the point, which the umpire claimed was not able to happen in Shanghai.
Medvedev was far from happy with the situation and could be heard lambasting the umpire in the middle of the first set.
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“I want you to show me where his ball bounced,” demanded Medvedev to the umpire during the match.
The chair umpire responded: “We can’t, it’s protocol,” which, unsurprisingly, left Medvedev unhappy.
So much so that the star then suggested he would quit the match outright if he did not see the point.
“If you don’t show me, I’m retiring. I don’t care,” shouted Medvedev.
That call from the Russian star appeared to work, however, as the chair umpire then said over his headset: “Show me the bounce, please.”
Medvedev might have got what he wanted but it did not change the way the first set played out. The Russian star lost the first set to Jodar 6-3.
This is, of course, not the first time Medvedev has been embroiled in controversy during the ATP Tour’s Asian swing.
In his semifinal match against Novak Djokovic at the China Open, Medvedev found himself defaulted after hitting a tennis ball into the crowd in Beijing.
The ball struck the spectator in the face, which meant Medvedev was no longer able to continue as he was a set and a break down against the Serbian.
As a result of his default at the China Open, Medvedev was stripped of both his prize money and ranking points, which put a dent in his bid to qualify for the ATP Finals.
However, Medvedev has bounced back impressively from that controversy at the Shanghai Masters.
He beat Jan-Lennard Struff, Dalibor Svrcina, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Tommy Paul to reach the final four of the penultimate Masters tournament of the ATP Tour calendar.
With just a few tournaments left before the season draws to a close, Medvedev sits at at number 6 in the race to qualify for the ATP Finals.
With the top eight players qualifying, Medvedev has a very good chance of playing the Turin tournament, which takes place between the 15th and 22nd November.
Should he qualify for the ATP Finals, it will mark his first appearance at the tournament since the 2024 season.
