Heated scene in the Australian Open semifinals between Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The victorious Russian gets terribly upset with the referee and loudly insults the referee.
Medvedev beats Tsitsipas in four sets and is in the final of the Australian Open, where he challenges Rafael Nadal on Sunday. The great performance of the Russian is not the subject of conversation, but his freak out in the second set.
When the 25-year-old conceded the break to make it 4: 5, he was visibly pissed off, which he also made clear with an obscene statement. For this, Medvedev received a warning from the chair umpire Jaume Campistol, which really pissed him off. Furious, he sat down on his bench and snapped at the referee: «Are you stupid? His father comments on every point. Answer my question! Oh my God, you’re insane!”
For his part, Medvedev demands a warning for Tsitsipas for unauthorized coaching by his father. But the referee does not respond to the request and simply ignores the US Open winner – and Medvedev really goes crazy. “Look me in the face when I’m talking to you! Gives him a warning, his father comments on every point,” repeats the 25-year-old. “You are crazy.”
A little later the sentence is through, Tsitsipas equalizes the sentence to 1: 1 – and Medvedev has to give the referee his opinion once more. “Do you understand Greek? Next time you have to give him a warning. If you don’t, you’re…what can I say…a little cat!”
The referee remains relatively calm throughout the scene and refrains from issuing another warning to Medvedev. Eurosport commentators Matthias Stach and Boris Becker criticize the referee for this and call for a tougher line. “He has to be careful not to lose control,” said Becker. “A poor performance by the referee.” Stach also says: “The referee put up with it all. That’s bad, he has to gain respect.”
Medvedev apologizes: “It was a mistake”
For Medvedev, the matter ultimately ends with a happy ending – not only because Tsitsipas received a warning for unauthorized coaching at the beginning of the fourth sentence. The world No. 2 wins the game in four sets and is in the Melbourne final, where Sunday’s opponent will be Rafael Nadal.
After the game, Medvedev shook hands with the referee and apologized. And when he was asked regarding the heated scene in the second set in the field interview and asked by Jim Courier whether these emotions also helped him to win the game, the Russian replies: “I don’t think negative emotions help me. When I do that, I usually lose the game. I also immediately thought it was a big mistake. But I was able to concentrate on the game once more and finally win the thing.”