(Video) Daniil Medvedev shows ridiculous returning stance during loss against Taylor Fritz at the ATP Finals
Daniil Medvedev had a complete meltdown during his opening group stage loss to Taylor Fritz in the ATP Finals.
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Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev had a night to forget in his opening group-stage match against Taylor Fritz. The former World No. 1 lost 6-4, 6-3 to the American—but that was only a small part of the story.
The main highlight came in the later stages of the second set, when Medvedev experienced a complete mental collapse.
During the return game at 2-4, the Russian lost a rally and responded by throwing his racket twice. The umpire issued a point penalty, prompting Medvedev to protest by holding his racket in a bizarre manner, gripping it by the face in defiance of the call.
Daniil Medvedev doing his best ‘party juggler’ impression on court vs Taylor Fritz at the ATP finals in Turin.
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) November 10, 2024
Threw his racket up in the air a few times, got point penalty & then said he will retire.
Total meltdown in set 2 from Medvedev.
pic.twitter.com/yYbQ5Uzrf0
Medvedev’s overall performance was lackluster. The 2021 US Open champion stayed competitive with Fritz through the first nine games of the match—but three consecutive double faults while serving to stay in the first set proved to be the turning point.
The good news for Medvedev is that he still has a chance to salvage his ATP Finals campaign. He will face Alex de Minaur and Jannik Sinner in his remaining group-stage matches.
Taylor Fritz credits serve for his win over Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals
Taylor Fritz made a strong start to his Nitto ATP Finals campaign on Sunday (November 10). The American defeated fourth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-3 in a solid first match. He won an impressive 85% of his first-serve points, as recorded by Infosys ATP Stats.
[The serve] was a big part of it for sure. He’s such a good returner. You can make a lot of first serves, but if they are not very high quality, he just puts so many returns in the court. It was huge for me, I hit a lot of lines, a lot of spots to start out games. I got out of a lot of service games [with] no pressure. Some of the ones we got tight in, I was either able to grind through the long rallies or get myself some free points.
Taylor Fritz said on the ATP Tour website
Taylor Fritz took advantage of a shaky start from Medvedev, who made seven double faults in the first set. Fritz then maintained his focus to pull away in the second set.
In the early part of the second set, Medvedev pushed back, but Fritz held his ground. He saved all three break points he faced, and then broke the Russian’s serve in the sixth game, securing an unbreakable lead.
Fritz has now evened his record against Medvedev at 1-1. This win also gives him a 1-0 record in the Ilie Nastase Group. Next, he will compete against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and newcomer Alex de Minaur. Medvedev, the 2020 champion, is aiming to win the tournament more than once, which he has not yet done in his career.
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Fahad Hamid
(625 Articles Published)