In a display of raw emotion, Daniil Medvedev made headlines at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters after he removed a net post.
The Russian was visibly frustrated during his quarterfinal match against Germany's Alexander Zverev. The spectacle unfolded after Medvedev, the third seed, relinquished his early lead in both sets.
In the second set, he was up 2-0 but lost the lead, and his opponent was soon set to serve for the match. Facing a mounting sense of pressure, on the surface that he doesn't like, Medvedev reached his breaking point during the ninth game of the second set.
After serving two successive double faults, he found himself trailing Zverev 4-5. As the players switched sides, Medvedev unleashed his frustration by removing one of the net posts, leaving his opponent visibly stunned and speechless.
Despite the unusual and dramatic display, chair umpire Carlos Bernardes took a light-hearted approach, refraining from issuing a warning to Medvedev. Instead, he opted to acknowledge the humor in the situation, saying, "It didn't break, that's fine," as he proceeded to fix the net post.
Surprisingly, Medvedev's outburst appeared to have a positive effect on his performance. Seemingly reinvigorated, he managed to break Zverev's serve just as the German was poised to clinch the match. This unexpected twist added another layer of excitement to an already thrilling match.
Moreover, he added one more break and after turning around the second set from 4-5 to 7-5, he forced a decider against Zverev, and the removal of the net post may have switched the momentum of the match.
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula recently talked about including trash talk in tennis, and while this wasn't trash talk, it was certainly something that could have distracted Medvedev's opponent and eventually could have been the turning point.
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