WATCH: Daniil Medvedev furiously throws his racket at crowd in Ben Shelton clash at Laver Cup; Frances Tiafoe argues over no default

Daniil Medvedev was involved in a controversial moment during his Laver Cup clash against Ben Shelton on Day 3, September 22. The Russian threw his racket in the crowd's direction at the Uber Arena.

Medvedev did not have a good start to the exhibition event in Berlin, as he suffered a 6-3, 4-6 [5-10] defeat to Frances Tiafoe on Day 2. Ahead of his match against Shelton, Team Europe were trailing 7-8 as Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud had reduced the deficit by winning the doubles match over Shelton and Tiafoe.

The first set went into a tiebreak and Medvedev was trailing 4-5 when he sent a ball long, thus giving his opponent a set point. He then threw his racket, which bounced on the court before ending up in the crowd, where Andrea Petkovic and others were sitting.

Laver Cup: Medvedev Racket Throw byu/theriverjordan intennis

Ben Shelton looked shocked with the Russian's actions while the other members of Team World were far from pleased. Medvedev went on to win the first set via a tiebreak and after that, John McEnroe started to argue with the umpire regarding the incident. Frances Tiafoe, meanwhile, persistently argued with the officials as to why the Russian was not defaulted for his actions.

Mohamed Lahyani then told the US Open semifinalist that Medvedev was not defaulted because the racket bounced and did not hit anyone. He also said that the Russian would have faced a default had his racket hit someone.

"Frances, it bounced and it didn’t hit anyone. The result was not bad. The result was not bad. If it had hit someone, I agree with you."

Daniil Medvedev lost his Laver Cup match to Ben Shelton

Daniil Medvedev in action at the Laver Cup (Image Source: Getty)

Daniil Medvedev took the lead in his match against Ben Shelton but he eventually lost it. The American fought hard in the second set and won it 7-5 to send the match into a 10-point tiebreak. Shelton won the tiebreak 10-7 to give Team World an 11-7 lead at the Laver Cup, taking them close to a third successive title.

Daniil Medvedev thus ends his Laver Cup 2024 campaign without a single win. His last win at the exhibition event dates back to 2021, when he thrashed Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-0.

The Russian's last tour-level appearance came at the US Open, where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. He is next scheduled to compete at the China Open in Beijing.