Daniil Medvedev flashed a middle finger to the French fans on Wednesday following his second-round exit at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The third-seeded Russian reportedly was heckled by the crowd throughout his loss to Bulgaria’s Grigor Dmitrov, who finished the 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2) upset in just under three hours.
A camera caught Medvedev making the obscene hand gesture as he walked off the court, although the World No. 3 had another explanation — albeit one dripping with sarcasm.
“No, I didn’t (flip them off),” Medvedev said in the interview room. “I just checked my nails, like this. It’s nothing more than that. Why would I do that to this beautiful crowd?”
Medvedev recorded eight double-faults, converted only three of 12 break points and finished with 22 winners and 20 unforced errors. Dmitrov ripped 47 winners and had 20 errors.
Medvedev, 27, received a code violation for delay of game after sitting down in protest near the end of the second set. He also tossed a racket and told fans courtside to shut up, according to The Telegraph.
He won this ATP 1000 tournament in 2020 when the fans were not permitted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I played much better here without the crowd,” Medvedev quipped Wednesday.
–Field Level Media