Daniil Medvedev reignites feud with French fans in Rolex Paris Masters defeat

Who's Daniil Medvedev's biggest rival on the ATP Tour? After a second-round defeat to Grigor Dimitrov at the Rolex Paris Masters on Wednesday, the answer might be tennis fans in France.

The former champion, who won the title in 2020 when the event was held behind closed doors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, drew the infamous wrath of the French faithful late in the second set, after he cracked his racquet after failing to convert three set points in the 10th game.

But as the boos and jeers continued to rain down as Medvedev prepared to serve in the next game, the third seed sat in his chair—telling chair umpire Renaud Lichenstein that he couldn't play in the conditions—and eventually, was given a code violation for delay of game.

The crowd soon quieted in response to Lichenstein's repeated reprimands, and Medvedev eventually played on. Though he won the second set, Dimitrov won the match 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(2).

"I throw the racquet, I get booed. Normal. I don't see a problem with that," Medvedev said afterwards. "I go to serve, they applause or something. But I want to serve. They shouldn't applause. So I still serve. The referee was talking during this so Grigor was not ready. Okay, that happens, but I get booed. I didn't see why, so I didn't want to play. That's actually the end of the story.

"Then I was, like, okay. Till they boo, I'm not going to play. But Bercy crowd doesn't stop to boo. So I was, like, okay. Then when I got a code, I was, like, do I really want to get disqualified and finish the match on this note? No. So I went to play."

Later, as he left the court, Medvedev was shown in a social media video purportedly showing his middle finger to all four corners of Accor Arena.

It's not the first time that Francophone Medvedev has drawn the ire of the Parisian crowd this year: He shushed a booing Court Philippe-Chatrier his first-round loss at Roland Garros to Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild as he debated a ball mark with chair umpire Aurélie Tourte.

"I think ... [it] doesn't really have to do anything with France or not France," he continued. "I think it just depends the tournament, the way I act, the way the crowd acts. So it's like all coming together."

Later, he added: "I don't want to say bad things about this tournament in general. ... As for some tournaments, there are some tournaments to which I like to come back, and here, well, I have problems with the crowd. It happens."

And as for his parting message? "I just checked my nails, like this," he said, slyly. "No, really, it's nothing more than that. Why would I do that to this beautiful crowd in Paris-Bercy?"

While the off-court matchup between Medvedev and the Parisian public was the top story, the on-court fireworks between him and Dimitrov was a worthy undercard—and even caught the eye of a former world No. 1 in Andy Murray.

"Medvedev vs Dimitrov is one the best match ups to watch on tour for me," Murray posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "[G]reat contrast in strokes, style and personality. ... Both great athletes and top movers."

Dimitrov, meanwhile, took it all in stride in the aftermath of his third Top 5 win in the last month.

"I think when those type of moments come, you cannot control the crowd, you cannot control the player or the umpire," he said. "... There are so many variables coming throughout the match. In the same time, I just feel like nothing can rattle me on that end to the extent I can just explode and have different type of reaction. Always in the game.

"The only thing I can really, really control is myself. I mean, if I'm able to keep my emotions on a good level and recognizing the situation, I don't see why there should be any problem."