Daniil Medvedev was left fuming at US Open match officials after being broken in the first set of his semi-final clash with Dominic Thiem.
Medvedev attempted to challenge his own first serve, which was long, but was not allowed to by the chair umpire.
It cost him a break and the Russian third seed – who finished as runner-up in New York a year ago – had a complete meltdown as he began ranting at the umpire and tournament supervisor.
‘I said it before the shot,’ he complained to the umpire.
The umpire urged him not to cross the net – ‘No, Daniil, don’t cross, don’t cross – which is against the rules but the Russian charged over to point where the ball, rightly, had gone out.
After questioning whether the umpire was ‘smart’, Medvedev then turned his attention to the supervisor, who was sat courtside.
‘It’s a joke US Open. US Open is a joke, right?
‘What did I do to get a code violation?’ When told he had crossed the net, he sarcastically responded: ‘Oh yeah, I think I killed someone, right?
‘My apologies. My sincere apologies to US Open for crossing the net. Oh my God. My sincere apologies ref. It’s okay? It’s okay? Sorry, sorry.’
A game later, he went back in for one more dig at the supervisor, groaning: ‘You guys sit near the court all the time, you don’t do anything. You don’t do anything.’
Medvedev’s frustration got the better of him as he was broken again to lose the first set 6-2 but he took himself off court for a breather before the second began and immediately broke.
However, he failed to serve the set out – a situation that arose again in the third – and he was beaten in straight sets as Thiem set up a final with Alexander Zverev.
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