Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas played another match of their fierce rivalry, and it was an insanely eventful clash at the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
Medvedev and Tsitsipas are two of the fiercest rivals on the ATP Tour. They had played 13 times before their meeting in Shanghai, and even though many of their previous matches were eventful, this one could certainly rank among the top.
It all started already before the match started. The two are known to be fierce rivals, and obviously, the crowd in Shanghai was aware of that, too. As the two were supposed to take a pre-match picture, they put their hands behind each other's backs, with the audience audibly gasping.
The match then got underway, and for a while, it was just a spectacular match between two rivals. In the opening set, Medvedev had six break points, but Tsitsipas saved all of them to force a tie-break.
Still, in that tie-break, the Greek player couldn't outplay the former World No. 1, as Medvedev won the tie-break 7-3 to secure the first set of the match.
However, Tsitsipas had a better start into the second set, breaking his opponent's serve and leading 2-1. In the fourth game, he was down 15-30 when about to serve, and that's when the drama started.
The match umpire, Fergus Murphy, gave Tsitsipas a time violation, his second of the match. This meant that he lost his first serve on a crucial point, nonetheless.
The Greek player was far from happy about that decision, as he approached the umpire to slam him for the decision, suggesting he gets more time violations than other players on the ATP Tour.
"Why are you doing this to me man? I’m the best about this on Tour, the most consistent player about this on tour. Why are you guys against me so much? The last few months have been terrible. I don’t understand what’s gotten into you."
"I haven’t seen any of my opponents get a time violation besides myself. There are some out there who are match worse than me."
Umpire Murphy responded to everything the Greek player said, telling him that he should watch more tennis to see if other players also received time violations.
"That’s not a correct statement. I’m not against you or anybody. Maybe if you watch more matches. We give lots of time violations. I’m sure they get time violations. The best thing to do is talk about this match. On that serve you were too slow. You need to watch the clock. You have to keep watching the clock and keep up."
Tsitsipas lost that game, losing the one-break advantage, and after that, the drama continued as he kept talking to the umpire and even asked for the supervisor.
"My issue is the double fault you just took away from me. That’s the issue. Have you never played tennis in your life? You have no clue about tennis it seems like."
Funnily enough, Murphy had another response ready for Tsitsipas, telling him that he indeed played tennis in his life, despite, obviously, not being 'as good' as he is.
The Greek player tried to continue arguing his point, stating that he, as a player, needs time to recover after the rallies, even taking a subtle dig at the umpire.
"Definitely you have no cardio. You probably serve and volley all the time. Tennis is a physical sport. We need time over there. Show some compassion. We aren’t throwing darts out here."
The match continued after that, and Tsitsipas wasn't able to get back to his best. He even received minor help from his opponent, Medvedev, who seemed to be struggling with a shoulder injury.
The Russian player still won the match in two sets, 7-6(3), 6-3, to set up a quarter-final match with Jannik Sinner, who bested Ben Shelton just minutes before this match ended.
Following the match, the dispute between Tsitsipas and Murphy continued, according to tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg, who stated that the Greek player told the umpire: "I hope you get fired. I really wish it."
On the other hand, Medvedev could already focus on his next match, which will be against an opponent that has been difficult for him to overcome lately.
"I’ll always fight till the end. With Jannik, we’ve had a lot of tough battles. It’s what I’m gonna bring tomorrow. Tactically, I don’t know yet. I’ll discuss it with my coach. Mentally, I have to fight."
"He’s number one in the world now. I’d say him and Carlos are probably the best. Never underestimate Novak. As soon as you underestimate him, he can bite you back (laughing). They are 3 very tough players at the moment. I’m gonna try my best."