Daniil Medvedev Hopes To Avoid 'Too Big' Fine After Furiously Smashing Net Camera
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Daniil Medvedev is likely to face a punishment after smashing his racket against a net camera, but something about the incident surprised him.
Medvedev has rightly developed a reputation as one of the best hard-court players in the world after winning the 2021 US Open and reaching five other major finals on the surface. He deserves to be recognized for those achievements.
However, the 28-year-old is also known for his outbursts that sometimes become farcical. Medvedev wears his heart on his sleeve during matches, which can lead to actions that leave fans amused, bemused, or shocked.
A recent example was at November's ATP Finals. Medvedev deliberately dropped his racket on the ground while staring at the umpire. He repeated the act several times and pretended to be sorry as if trying to make the umpire give him a violation.
After receiving no reaction from the chair, Medvedev then pretended to return serve with his racket facing the wrong way. Even by his standards it was a bizarre incident and one he admitted to feeling embarrassed about after.
Nick Kyrgios theorized that the intense tennis calendar was responsible for Medvedev's strange actions on the court. While not implausible, the former US Open champion never suggested that was the reason when asked about it.
Medvedev faced Kansidit Samrej in the opening round of the Australian Open. Samrej was a wild card who has never been ranked inside the Top 400 in singles, meaning it seemed like a perfect draw for the three-time finalist in Melbourne.
The match proved to be much closer than most expected. Medvedev needed five sets to prevail 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. His fitness and greater experience of playing lengthy matches proved the difference, but Samrej outplayed him for long periods.
Medvedev's frustration about how well Samrej was playing boiled over shortly before losing the third set. At 3-5, 15-30 down, the pre-match favorite tracked down a net cord, but his Thai opponent hit a passing shot to give himself two set points.
The former ATP world No. 1's enraged reaction to that moment can be viewed below. He repeatedly smashed his racket against the net camera after being unable to hide how annoyed he was by Samrej's high level.
Although the camera did break down, it did not shatter into pieces in the way Medvedev expected. In his press conference after the match, Medvedev admitted to being surprised by how well the camera handled the damage he inflicted.
"Honestly I hope not too big (the fine for breaking the camera) because probably, like, the fine is usually for breaking the racket, and the camera is going to cost some, but I don't think GoPro is that expensive. But what I have to say is that the camera was very, very strong, because my racket didn't handle the damage but the camera did."
"It broke down but there was not one thing going out from the camera. It was very strong. I was very surprised, because when I did it, you want to smash the racket in pieces, and when I saw the racket, I was like, 'Okay, time to take a new one I guess'."
