“Was the judge sleeping?” Daniil Medvedev’s chaotic underarm serve against Alexander Bublik criticized as ball kids failed to get in place before the point

Daniil Medvedev resorts to underarm serve to finish the match against Alexander Bublik in Dubai.


“Was the judge sleeping?” Daniil Medvedev’s chaotic underarm serve against Alexander Bublik criticized as ball kids failed to get in place before the point

Daniil Medvedev

On Wednesday, Daniil Medvedev surprised his opponent Alexander Bublik by resorting to one of the most eccentric shots in the sport. He sealed a victory over the Kazakh player with an underarm serve on match point in the Dubai Tennis Championships round of 16.

This is not the first time Russian former World No. 1 deployed the shot in his career. In the 2021 French Open, he bowed out against Stefanos Tsitsipas after playing the ill-judged shot. A few months earlier, in the Nitto ATP Finals in London, Medvedev hit the headlines with the same shot. 

YouTube video

But what was interesting about Wednesday’s match was that Bublik himself played the same shot earlier. “He wanted a bit of payback on Alexander Bublik,” the commentator said after Medvedev’s return of the favor. 

FS Video

The moment was peculiar because of another reason. When Medvedev played the point, the ball kids were not in place and even one of them looked almost inside the court. Social media users later blamed the chair umpire for such a lack of oversight. 

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Daniil Medvedev’s underarm serve keeps social media busy 

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Daniil Medvedev’s underarm serve against Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2021 French Open

The shot was pioneered by Michael Chang who deployed it for the first time in the 1989 French Open against Ivan Lendl. Since then, it has become one of the most unorthodox shots in the game though its validity still remains in question. In recent times, Russian Daniil Medvedev and Australian Nick Kyrgios have redefined the shot in their own style. 

Former Swiss star Martina Hingis has resorted to the serve a couple of times. Despite not being a frequent sight on the court, many of the players have criticized it as well. Rafael Nadal once accused Kyrgios of “lacking respect” for his opponent and the crowd because of this shot. 

Anyway, after Medvedev’s latest tactic, social media was abuzz with varying opinions. Most of the users criticized the shot while pointing out the lack of oversight from the Umpire as the ball kids were still not in place when Medvedev hit the serve. 

https://twitter.com/GTLTennis/status/1631066025339895809
https://twitter.com/intrigu04518418/status/1631068883145703425

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