Daniil Medvedev calls for VAR after Wimbledon code violation drama
Daniil Medvedev has revealed what he said to chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore, after many thought that the Russian could have been at risk of disqualification in his Wimbledon semi-final.
Medvedev was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz, 6(1)-7 6-3 6-4 6-4, for a second consecutive year in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
However, one of the main talking points in the match came in the opening set when the aforementioned chair umpire adjudged the ball to have bounced twice, which meant that Medvedev lost his break advantage.
This was met by a somewhat angry response by Medvedev, who appeared to mouth something in the way of Asderaki-Moore, but it was not quite clear what that was.
Asderaki-Moore subsequently called for the tournament referee and match supervisor, resulting in a lengthy discussion about the situation, but Medvedev only ended up receiving a code violation warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Many fans thought that Medvedev was saying expletives towards the chair umpire, but in his press conference the world No.5 claimed that he was speaking Russian.
“I don’t know if it was double bounce or not. I thought no. That was tricky. The thing is that once long ago Roland Garros against (Marin) Cilic I lost, and she didn’t see that was one bounce. So I had this in my mind,” explained Medvedev. “I thought, again, against me. I said something in Russian, not unpleasant, but not over the line. So I got a code for it.”
Despite the situation seeming up in the air for a while, Medvedev suggested that he was never concerned about being defaulted and called for video replays in tennis.
“Not at all because, as I say, I didn’t say anything too bad,” said the 28-year-old. “The thing is that I think it would be so much easier with a challenge system.
“The challenge system shows a bounce. So if there was a bounce, it would show it. Then if we use it, we would never have this situation. So I don’t know why don’t we use the challenge system for double bounce, the hawk-eye or whatever.”
Medvedev will now have some weeks off, before before beginning his US Open hard court swing in Montreal next month.
Inside the baseline…
It certainly appeared to be a precarious situation for Daniil Medvedev, with it really looking like he swore at the umpire in English. Regardless of whether the ball bounced twice, there was no need for Medvedev to address the chair umpire like that. In terms of video replays, they were tested at the US Open last year and with a bit of polishing up would probably be a good addition to the sport.
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