World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev has let his emotions get the better of him, bashing the umpire’s chair in a bizarre meltdown in his match against Diego Schwartzman at the ATP Cup.
Last year’s US Open runner-up improved to 4-0 for his ATP Cup singles events after taking down Schwartzman 6-4 4-6 6-3.
The victory helped secure Russia’s spot in the semi-finals after world No.17 Karen Khachanov defeated Guido Pella in straight sets, 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
But the Russian star was handed a point penalty for hitting the chair with his racquet during the second set after umpire Mohamed Lahyani warned him over a previous confrontation with his opponent.
Heated altercation between Medvedev and Schwartzman
The incident was sparked after Medvedev furiously approached the umpire and demanded to know whether he’d been given a warning for his previous incident.
A verbal altercation between the two players had occurred earlier after Medvedev took out the opening set 6-4.
The two stars unexpectedly exchanged words as they walked off the court.
It was unclear what they were saying to each other but Lahyani was forced to intervene, separating Medvedev and Schwartzman.
The two players were told to walk their separate ways from the umpire.
After the altercation, Team Russia was handed an unsportsmanlike code violation.