Medvedev admits he is working on changing after ‘immature’ comment

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Tennis star Daniil Medvedev has admitted he is working on his on-court behaviour and maturity, after reaching the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters.

The former world No.1 has returned to his best from over the last month, having won his last three tournaments. While his level of play has risen, his actions during play have come under scrutiny at the ongoing Indian Wells Masters.

Following Medvedev’s third-round win over Ilya Ivashka, he fumed at the umpire and threatened to “pee slowly” as he struggled to handle the speed of the court. The Russian slammed the traditionally slow courts in the Californian desert by saying: “It’s a disgrace to sport, this court!”

He repeated his comments to the umpire during his eventful round of 16 tie with Alexander Zverev, as he was caught saying: “Freaking disgrace to the sport. Should be banned from playing here. And they call it a hard court. What a shame to call this awful court a hard court. I’ll go to the toilet but I don’t care, give me a time violation, I’m going to be as slow as this court.

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“I don’t care if I get a time violation. I’m going to the toilet for however long. If they make us play here, I can do whatever I want. I don’t care.” Speaking to the press after eventually outlasting the German 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5, the 27-year-old commented on his behaviour on court and admitted sone of his recent actions were wrong.

“The attitude I had on the court today and with Ivashka was immature,” Medvedev said. “But, yeah, what else can I say? That’s also this high-intensity sport where you are one on one against the opponent brings the heat out of you.

“Some players are capable of controlling it better than the others. Some are controlling it less, like me. So, yeah, that’s my character, and that’s my personality, also.” While knowing his animated on-court persona can sometimes land him in trouble, the 2021 US Open Champion wants to change and be remembered for his tennis ability and the positive aspects of his character.

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“Sometimes if a person comes to me and says, ‘You did a mistake.’ I say, ‘No, I don’t think so.’” he added. “Then that’s also your opinion. But sometimes I’m capable of seeing this, and then telling myself, ‘Okay, maybe next time I have to try to do better.’

“That’s something I’m going to try to work throughout my whole career, because I want to be remembered not definitely for my tantrums but more for my game and for my good parts of my personality.” Medvedev extended his red-hot winning streak to 17 matches last night when he recovered from a heavy fall to defeat Zverev at the BNP Paribas Open.

The fifth seed took a tumble when moving out wide early in the second set and was left in agony as he rolled his right ankle. However, after having his ankle taped, he soldiered on and turned the match around, sealing the win on his second match point to earn a hard-fought victory against the 12th-seed after three hours. He will play Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the quarter-finals with a spot in the last four up for grabs.

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