Coach storms out after Medvedev tirade
Daniil Medvedev’s coach stormed out of the world No1’s Halle Open final defeat after being screamed at by the Russian.
Medvedev was furious at himself for losing to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-1, 6-4 and smashed his racket after the pair shook hands at the net.
But his coach, Gilles Cervara, was not there to see the end in person, as he left the arena after Medvedev launched an angry tirade in his direction early in the second set.
Reacting to Hurkacz breaking his serve in the first game of the second set, Medvedev was seen shouting towards his player box. The cameras caught Cervara picking up his bags and exiting the stands soon after.
Post-match, Medvedev thanked his wife – who had been sat directly behind Cervara – for her continued support despite his behaviour. “Daria, thanks a lot for this week,” he said in his runner-up speech. “Not easy to be with me on the court sometimes but hopefully next time will be easier and much better.”
It was his second loss in a final in seven days, after his surprise defeat by Tim van Rijthoven in ’s-hertogenbosch. Medvedev remains banned from Wimbledon due to the All England Club’s decision to stop Russian and Belarusian players from competing.
At Queen’s, Matteo Berrettini defended his cinch Championship title by beating Serbian surprise package Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-4.
The world No10 has been invincible this grass-court season, unbeaten since returning from recent hand surgery. The Italian has won back-to-back titles and will hope to continue the run at Wimbledon, where he was runner-up to Novak Djokovic last year.
Elsewhere, Ons Jabeur won her second title this season after Belinda Bencic was forced to retire from the bett1open final in Berlin because of an ankle injury. Tunisia’s Jabeur was praised afterwards for her sportsmanship, as she brought Bencic an ice pack to treat her injury.