” They’re stupid ! If they don’t whistle, I play! “. Beaten from the start by the Bulgarian Gregor Dimitrov for his entry into the Masters 1000 at Paris-Bercy (3-6, 7-6, 6-7), Daniil Medvedev will not keep good memories of this defeat against the 17e world player. Heckled for a large part of the match, the Russian even gave the Parisian public the thumbs up when he returned to the locker room after his disappointment. Regarding this bad gesture, Medvedev claimed after the match that he had simply “looked at her nails”.
But the sometimes turbulent Parisian spectators are not the only explanation for the 27-year-old’s defeat. On Wednesday, Daniil Medvedev was very inconsistent on serve, which quickly led him to lose the first set (3-6). After recovering well in the second set, leading five games to two, the old demons of the third player in the world resurfaced. Frustrated at not pocketing the set as easily as he imagined – he only equalized at one set all after his seventh set point – the Russian threw his racket to the ground. A gesture which did not please the spectators, who then hastened to whistle it.
“The more you stop, the more it annoys them”
“I don’t play like that!” I didn’t do anything to make them whistle at me.” Medvedev then indicated to the referee, who replied: “You have to go play. The more you stop [de jouer], the more it annoys them, the more they hiss. » The discussion ultimately earned him a warning for running out of time.
In an indecisive third set – where he still saved six match points – the Russian finally lost in the tie-break (2-7) against a Dimitrov who was very fair in his game (only five unforced errors in the third set).
At the press conference after the match, the Russian was still bitter and angry with the Parisian spectators. “It’s the public at Bercy, everyone knows it, not everyone likes to play here. I played much better (…) when there was no one there”he said, mentioning his victory in 2020, in an edition played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Here, with me, it doesn’t connect. »
Medvedev’s journey therefore ends in 16are final, just like that of the second player in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, surprisingly defeated (3-6, 4-6) by Roman Safiullin (45e) on the same court, Tuesday. The 1.98 meter Russian’s 2023 season remains his best since his debut on the professional circuit in 2014. Since January, he has won 64 matches, including five titles (Doha, Dubai, Miami, Rome and Rotterdam). .
The world number one, Novak Djokovic, enters the fray on Wednesday from 4:30 p.m., against the Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry (31e). Already holder of the record for titles at Bercy (6), the Serbian now has a clear path to try to win a seventh.