13 July 2023 , 05:11
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Daniil Medvedev admits he was "surprised" to be given a code violation by the umpire during his Wimbledon quarter-final.
The Russian made it into the last four thanks to victory against Chris Eubanks, one of the stars of the tournament, in a five-set thriller. Medvedev won the opening set before the American levelled with the former US Open champion clearly frustrated - which led to his outburst.
Medvedev hit a stray tennis ball in the direction of a camerawoman, only to miss her. The 27-year-old thought that would be that, but was issued with a code violation which left him stunned. Whilst admitting it was "dangerous" he thought his inaccuracy would save him, later questioning the umpire's decision.
He said: “I didn’t want to do what happened to the ball because it was actually a little bit dangerous. I wanted to kind of chip it so it goes over the net and it didn’t bounce as it should, so I was like, ‘Oh, my God’. But at the end nothing happened, so that’s why I was actually surprised about the code.
“We had a chat with the umpire afterwards. I think we were both wrong. I was wrong with my emotions. He was maybe in something else, but that’s a question to him.”
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It led to a heated discussion between Medvedev and the Frenchman in the chair, Damien Damusois, as he justified the decision. The Russian later fell behind two sets to one, but rallied to claim victory in five, winning the final set 6-1 on Court One to set up a semi-final against top seed Carlos Alcaraz.
He added: “There was a moment in the match I just started losing kind of everything, the focus, the momentum of the match, which can happen of course at this level. Chris played well. I managed to step up my serve in the fourth set. That’s what I was missing in the second and third. That was the key. That’s very important on grass.”
The Russian hit a ball which narrowly missed a cameraman (BBC)Medvedev has made the finals of both the Grand Slams that are played on hard courts but has previously struggled to make an impression on grass, albeit he was banned last year due to his nationality and is currently playing as a neutral athlete.
He is well aware of the challenge posed by the youthful World No 1: “We see if you give him one easy shot, you can be in trouble. With Novak or Andy, even Rafa, you kind of feel like you can have a chance, but the thing is they’re going to have 20 more.
"With Carlos, maybe you’re not going to get this one. It’s one shot and sometimes it’s brutal. What he continues to do is just unbelievable. He doesn’t stop. I don’t think he will. But I played a lot of great players in my career. I managed to win many times. If I show my best, I’ll have my chances.”