Daniil Medvedev has opened up about his recent outbursts in Monte Carlo, where he engaged in heated exchanges with two umpires and called for a linesman to be fired. The former world No. 1 acknowledged that his behavior was inappropriate and that he regrets his actions.
“Now it’s been one week, it was the same 10 minutes after the match I was like already yeah, mistakes happen,” Medvedev said ahead of the Madrid Open. “The thing is that what is sometimes tough is that it all depends on circumstances and moments. And I would definitely react differently for many different reasons. I’m not trying to find excuses but in Monte Carlo I was not feeling well, like sick.”
Medvedev explained that his focus shifted away from the match after the contentious ball marks, leading to his emotional outburst. “So playing my matches I was like a little bit in the zone where you try to take everything away and just focus on the match. And then when this happened, my focus shifted out of the match and I got crazy and that was, you know, for nothing. Mistakes can happen, I do mistakes on the court. And now sitting calmly here, I know it. I love football, every game there is mistakes. Tennis, we saw other players getting mistakes.”
Despite his regrets, Medvedev maintained that he does not condone his behavior. “During the moment it’s so tough to control your emotions so also I don’t really regret it, it’s something that happened, that’s how I reacted and I wish I haven’t reacted like this,” he added. “So let’s see next time it happens, I cannot promise anything but hopefully I can focus more on the match than the mistakes itself.”
Medvedev also expressed an unusual wish for his remorseful remarks to go viral after his outbursts circulated on social media.
“I would think that’s something that bothers me in a way where that’s how social media works, like clickbait we call it,” Medvedev said. “In the same match there could be some amazing points but they’re not going to show it, they’re just going to show these moments. And that’s something I learned to live through, that’s something we have in sports, social media with all the videos and everything and I’m just trying to use it less to not see it.”
Medvedev’s candid reflections on his Monte Carlo behavior demonstrate his commitment to personal growth and improvement. While he acknowledges that mistakes can happen, he is determined to learn from his experiences and avoid similar outbursts in the future.
