"Daniil Medvedev very lucky not to be disqualified", "So dangerous"- Fans shocked by Russian's angry racket throw during Laver Cup loss to Ben Shelton

Daniil Medvedev's unpredictable temperament surfaced on the final day of the 2024 Laver Cup, during the Russian's 7-6(6), 5-7, 7-10 loss to Ben Shelton. The Russian, in a moment of frustration, recklessly hurled his racket at the crowd. Luckily, the racket didn't hit anyone, but fans later debated if the former World No. 1 should have been defaulted.

Medvedev came into the match against Shelton on the back of a loss to Frances Tiafoe on the second day of the team tennis event. A tight first set between Medvedev and Shelton resulted in a tiebreak, where the American engineered a set point opportunity, aided by a mistake from the Russian. Enraged, the 2021 US Open champion threw his racket towards the crowd.

Immediately, Team World, led by Frances Tiafoe, were up in arms. According to them, Daniil Medvedev committed an act that possibly warranted a default. However, the chair umpire let the Russian off the hook with a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. Ben Shelton too had taken notice of the former World No. 1's racket throw.

Several fans and journalists on X (formerly Twitter) were quick to react to the controversial incident, with some suggesting that Daniil Medvedev got away with it partly because of the nature of the Laver Cup. Even though the team tennis event has been an ATP tour-sanctioned tournament since 2019, it still is widely regarded as an exhibition, as its matches don't impact players' rankings.

"Only reason why Medvedev wasn’t defaulted was because this was Laver Cup…," journalist Jose Morgado wrote.

"Medvedev very lucky not to be disqualified with that irrational racket throw. Tiafoe fuming about it but Medvedev a set up v Shelton," former player and present-day commentator and coach Jo Durie added.

"Between this racket throw at Laver Cup and the Wimbledon “incident” with the umpire, Meddy has really been flirting with a default recently…," a fan chimed in, referring to the Russian's seeming use of a derogatory word at chair umpire Eva Asderaki at this year's Wimbledon.

"He should’ve got a point penalty for that. That was so dangerous," another opined.

There were others who ridiculed the suggestion that Medvedev should have been defaulted, stating that by the rulebook, disqualifying the Russian would only be considered if the racket had hit someone.

"Nah the racket didn't hit anybody," commented one fan.

"No, the only reason he wasn't defaulted was because the racket didn't hit anyone. That is the rule whether it's Laver cup or Wimbledon," another added.

"Default for what? It didn’t hit anyone," opined yet another fan.

Earlier this year, Medvedev did something similar at the Australian Open, where he reached the final before losing to Jannik Sinner in the final.

Daniil Medvedev's frustrations boiled over in Australian Open 2024 2R

Daniil Medvedev during the 2024 Australian Open men's singles final trophy presentation ceremony (Source: Getty)

At the 2024 Australian Open, Emil Ruusuvuori severely tested Daniil Medvedev in the second round. The pair's late-night five-set marathon lasted four hours and 23 minutes, finishing at 3:40 AM local time in Melbourne.

In the fourth set, Medvedev couldn't contain his anger as Ruusuvuori established a momentary lead over the Russian. Here, the former World No. 1 stirred controversy by throwing his racket at bottles positioned on the court in the vicinity of his bench, which scattered as soon as the racket made contact with them.

On that occasion, the chair umpire had given a warning to Medvedev. Even though the Russian won the match against Ruusuvuori, the toll it took on him became evident in the final against Jannik Sinner, as the Italian scrambled his way back from two-sets-to-love down to remarkably win his maiden Major title.