"It was ridiculous... I don't understand" - Daniil Medvedev takes out his frustrations on balls after Dubai drama and eventual loss

Daniil Medvedev, the top seed at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2025, crashed out of the quarterfinals after a three-set battle against Tallon Griekspoor [6-2, (7) 6-7, 5-7]. After the loss, Medvedev complained about the slowness of the balls and how it impacted the outcome of the match.

This is not the first time that Medvedev has had these complains. In the past as well, the former World No. 1 has been vocal about the slow nature of courts and balls being used on the tour and its impact on certain styles of players.

Daniil Medvedev was looking to be in good form before entering the tournament and even defeated Jan-Lennard Sturff and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets on his way to the quarterfinal. But the Russian has recently struggled with consistency in reaching the latter stages of tournaments.

This season, he has competed in five events, but he was eliminated early by unranked or unseeded players in four of them. The only exception was his most recent tournament in Doha, where he reached the quarterfinals but was forced to retire mid-match against Felix Auger-Aliassime after losing the first set due to food poisoning.

In the post-match conference after the loss against Griekspoor, Daniil Medvedev reflected on the deciding factors of the match. He took out his frustrations on the slowness of the balls, which played a crucial role in the result from his point of view.

“It was ridiculous how slow the balls were. I do not understand how it's not 5-7 ball change in the ATP Tour. I don't get it," Medvedev remarked.

Further, when the interviewer delved deep into the analysis of the match and asked the Russian about Griekspoor’s volleying tactics, Medvedev replied:

“The balls, when they fly through the air slower, get an advantage to guys who volleys because they have more time to react, to adapt to a shot that is going to them. When they had more time, and that’s a big disadvantage but ATP doesn’t seem to care.”

The former World No. 1 expressed his disappointment regarding slow balls and took a dig against the ATP for not keeping the rotation of new balls frequent.

The match was filled with controversies and outrage from the Russians' side. Daniil Medvedev was seen accusing the chair umpire of giving biased decisions against him during the match. He accused the umpire of being a Russophobe but later apologized for the same.

However, his frustration did not stop there. After the loss, he went on to smash his racket and break it, before going for the contemporary handshake with the opponent.

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Daniil Medvedev on the quarterfinal loss and the journey toward his peak

Daniil Medvedev at the BNP Paribas Open 2024 - Source: Getty

Medvedev, while stating his reasons for the loss in the quarterfinal, credited the Dutch player for taking his chances and playing the low percentage tennis, which went in his favor. And at the same time, the Russian even took out some positives from the match to look forward to in the next tournament.

“I think he started playing better at some moments. I do think in a way, he got lucky with some shots but that’s tennis. When I say lucky, he also went for them so he deserved it. I didn’t really get tired or anything. I didn't really get tight or anything. I played good shots at the good moment. He made it happen for him today," he stated.

When the interviewer asked him in the press conference, how he felt about the loss, the 29-year-old replied:

“It doesn’t matter in the bigger picture because getting my level back is important and that’s the way I am going to get in the finals, win tournaments, etc. At the same time, I was playing very good and wanted to do better than the quarterfinal, but again every match its a new story.”

Daniil Medvedev will be back in action at the Indian Wells, which will be the first Masters 1000 of the season. For the last two years, he has finished as the runner up against Carlos Alcaraz. He will be determined to put his inconsistencies on the backseat and gradually reach his absolute best. The tournament is set to kick off on March 5.