Paris: World No. 3 tennis player Daniil Medvedev has denied delivering a middle-finger gesture to the Parisian crowd after being booed by local fans during his defeat to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov at the Paris Masters.
The Russian, who was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2) in the round of 32 on Wednesday, was booed by the crowd during the second set for throwing his racket and even stopped playing in the until the boos stopped, before receiving a code violation for delaying the match.
Asked about his gesture towards the crowd as he walked off court, the former world number one said: “No, I didn’t [give the crowd the finger]. I just checked my nails, like this. It’s nothing more than that. Why would I do that to this beautiful crowd in Paris-Bercy?” the 27-year-old was quoted by The Telegraph.
“I was, like, ‘Okay, till they boo, I’m not going to play,’ Medvedev explained later. “But Bercy crowd doesn’t stop to boo. Then when I got a code [violation], I was, like, ‘Do I really want to get disqualified and finish the match on this note?’ No. So I went to play.”
“I have a lot of French friends, and they don’t seem to like very much this tournament. Maybe there is a reason. I played much better here without the crowd,” the Russian added.
Dimitrov led by a set before falling to defeat in the pair’s second-round clash in Vienna just six days ago, but he made no mistake this time around as he powered 48 winners to Medvedev’s 22 for his first victory against the World No. 3 since 2021.
