Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev has been charged with an underhanded act of play against Australian Alex de Minaur after he left the court for nearly 30 minutes in a badly losing game.
13th-seeded De Minaur shocked the world No. 3 in their round of 16 at the US Open by winning the first set 6-2.
This prompted Medvedev to gather his entire bag and leave the pitch for an extended period, returning with completely changed clothes.
After struggling in the first set, the re-energized Russian regained his momentum during the extended break and raced through the next three sets to turn the match around, eventually winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-. 2.
This questionable act caused many fans to question Medvedev’s tactics.
“He should have been forced out of the game. It’s easy to cheat,” fumes one of them.
“Match Fix Medvedev has finally decided to run,” posted another.
“He’s the Medvedev we know,” another fan replied.
Medvedev struggled in the first set but rode through the next three sets to take the win after an extended break.
De Minaur fell into a black hole after the break and was crushed by Medvedev in the next two sets
Australian doubles champion Todd Woodbridge was also scathing in his comments.
“It’s a strange situation in the game,” Woodbridge told Channel 9.
“At 31 minutes into the set, Medvedev leaves the court, took his whole bag…why do you need to leave the court for so long?
“It’s not a toilet break, is he changing to a complete kit? Shouldn’t it be at a certain time? I’m telling you, I think our sport really needs to do something about these changes.
“It’s such a crutch that everyone seems to be using when they’re down, and it’s just not part of the game.
“It shouldn’t be there, I implore our rules people to step in and stop all these things, because these are just momentum changes in games that we shouldn’t have.
De Minaur struggled to keep up with the world No. 3 after the break between sets where Medvedev also used an inhaler.
The Russian claimed he was struggling to breathe and used an inhaler after losing the opening set to the Australian star.
Medvedev had also complained of having difficulty breathing in the hot conditions at Louis Armstrong Stadium and received permission from the chair umpire to use an inhaler.
The incident happened after Medvedev’s tough second-round match against fellow Australian Chris O’Connell, who also used an inhaler after claiming to have breathing problems.
O’Connell launched a spirited fightback in the third set which he won in a tiebreaker following the use of the inhaler.
After losing the set, Medvedev asked the doctor: “Can I have what he had?”
the doctor replied, “Do you have these symptoms?” »
Medvedev replied: “Well, I lost the set. I had problems too, I want the same.
Some tennis fans said Medvedev clearly learned from the experience, ensuring he had access to an inhaler for future matches.
“The last person Medvedev played was struggling to breathe. They gave him an inhaler. His tennis really picked up, Medvedev asked if he could have the inhaler and he was told no. Tonight he s ‘m guaranteed to have the inhaler, he’s a scammer,” posted a fan.
However, others said it was just sour grapes from the Australians and that Medvedev was playing by the rules.
“It’s allowed in the rules and there’s only one rule — RULES ARE RULES — many at the top have already done this,” one posted.
Medvedev will face Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.
“It was really impressive, it was a big turnaround after losing the first set,” Woodbridge said.
“For Alex, it’s another great tournament, but he will be disappointed with this score after his start. He was eventually dominated, unfortunately.
