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Daniil Medvedev overturned a one-set deficit to defeat Alexander Bublik 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the 2021 National Bank Open in Toronto on Tuesday. The entertaining three-set encounter featured a little bit of everything, including spectacular shot-making and a strange "hindrance" call by the chair umpire.
In the third game of the final set, Medvedev struck a smash straight at Bublik, who was somehow able to put the ball back in play despite finding himself on the floor. Medvedev apologized to his opponent before finishing the point with a smash.
But chair umpire Aurelie Tourte called it a 'hindrance,' as the Russian's apology came while the point was still in progress.
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While Tourte followed the rule book, Medvedev was left rather bemused as he felt Bublik, who was on the ground without a racket, had no chance of returning the Russian's shot. Medvedev labeled the call "stupid" and then went on to jokingly suggest that the chair umpire should be fined.
“Can you imagine how stupid this call is? This is going on Tennis TV,” Medvedev told Tourte. “Ref! Ref! Where’s the ref at? You should fine her. But no, I’m going to get fined, of course!”
Speaking to the media after the match, the World No. 2 admitted the incident was "funny." Medvedev said he did not initially know what the word "hindrance" meant and that he had to look it up on Google. The Russian also insisted that the rule was problematic.
"Well, first of all, it was funny. But if it would be a breakpoint it would be less fun," Medvedev said. "For me, either they change the name of the rule, because "hindrance," I looked at it on Google Translate, because I was not sure what it means. I thought it meant disturbance, like to disturb somebody. I was right. You can ask Bublik if I disturbed him by saying "Sorry." He will say no."
"I had the smash, which I would never miss in my life. I actually put it away. Even if he jumped, he couldn't get the ball. So again, there was no hindrance. There was no disturbance."
"I don't care about hype at all" - Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev has featured heavily in the ATP's videos on social media for a variety of reasons, ranging from his incredible shot-making to his on-court meltdowns.
When asked if being constantly in the headlines "amped" him, the Russian responded in the negative and said his sole focus was on playing "good tennis."
"I need to be completely honest: I don't care about hype at all," Medvedev said. "Since I came on tour, I think when I made it to the top 100, I was probably No. 4 or 5 in my age, was quite big. I can tell you all the other guys was getting the hype. I was not, but I didn't care. I wanted to be better. I wanted to just play good tennis."
"Of course you're going to get the hype if you play good, if you make finals of Slams, win Masters, you're going to have followers, you're going to have more attention on yourself," he added.
Have to follow what Novak Djokovic does: Daniil Medvedev on getting over Olympics disappointment
Daniil Medvedev came into the Masters 1000 event in Toronto on the back of a quarterfinal defeat by Pablo Carreno Busta at the Tokyo Olympics. The Russian, the second seed in the Japanese capital, was one of the favorites to take home a medal.
When asked about how he had regrouped after his disappointing loss in Tokyo, Medvedev cited the example of Novak Djokovic and how the Serb had bounced back from similar setbacks in the past.
"Olympics was a tough shot, I would say," Daniil Medvedev said. "When Novak lost, I saw all over social media what he said and he said, especially when he lost after the third place, he said that all his Olympics defeats were very tough, but then he came back only stronger."
"I was really disappointed with the way Olympics ended. Obviously if the guy who is probably the greatest tennis player of all time, says this, well, I have to, you know, kind of follow what he does. I knew that I will be coming here, trying to disconnect a little. Now in a way I don't remember it," he added.
Medvedev insisted that his focus was now on winning the ongoing National Bank Open, as well as the upcoming Cincinnati Masters and US Open.
"Of course I wanted to do better, but now the goal is to try to win this tournament, to try to win Cincinnati, to try to win US Open. That's how tennis is.," the 25-year-old asserted.
