WATCH: Gaël Monfils’s epic ‘clean up’ act against Daniil Medvedev after the latter smashes his racquet in Indian Wells 2022
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Daniil Medvedev, Gael Monfils
World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 28 Gaël Monfils fought it out in the third round of the Indian Wells for a chance at the Masters title. An intense three-setter match between the two-seeded players rocked the chairs of the audience overlooking the battle in front of them. For Monfils, this match was a step up to his final goal. However, for the Russian, the case was not so simple.
Daniil Medvedev’s outburst
The first set of the match was well played and deserved by the Russian star ( 6-4 ) though Monfils also didn’t make it any easier. In the second set, however, Monfils overwhelmed Medvedev winning the set in 9 games ( 3-6 ). This was not at all taken well by the Russian, making him lose control of his anger and smashing his racquet on the court over and over again.
The rule requesting players to change sides took place after the first game, a chance that Monfils did not waste. The 35-year old used his towel as a broom and displayed what looked like his cleaning the part of the court that Medvedev hit with his racquet. The act by Monfils left the crowd and also Daniil laughing cooling down the tension on the court. However, following his eruption, Medvedev went on to lose the thirst set, ending the match in three sets with a score ( 6-4, 3-6, 1-6 ).
Along with his chance to win the Indian Wells Masters title, the Russian also officially lost his place at the top of the ranking list dropping to the second spot on the rankings with Novak Djokovic back on the top but only with a gap of 55 points. If Medvedev makes the semi-finals of the 2022 Miami Masters in the coming weeks, he will be back on top.
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Varsha Srikumar
(135 Articles Published)