Daniil Medvedev suffered a bizarre meltdown during a straight sets defeat to Taylor Fritz on the opening day of the ATP Finals.
Fritz swept aside the world-ranked number four, Medvedev in Turin, Italy, beating him 6-4 6-3.
The Russian struggled with his service game in the opening set, hitting a mammoth seven double faults, including two in a row to hand Fritz set point.
By the end of the set, Medvedev lost his temper and smashed his tennis racquet with force against his seat.
His rage would take a peculiar turn in the second set, with the 2021 US Open Champion trading his racquet-smashing attitude for a more blase throwing technique.
Daniil Medvedev lost his cool once again during ATP Finals defeat to Taylor Fritz in Turin, Italy
Fritz, who reached the semi-finals in 2022, beat the World No4 convincingly in straight sets
Medvedev started smashing his racquets after hitting seven double faults in the first set
On multiple occasions, Medvedev threw his racquet into the sky but purposely let it come crashing down onto the court.
He also received a point penalty in the second set due to one of his throws breaking a courtside microphone.
A clearly irritated Medvedev, who is a regular tantrum-thrower, then threatened to retire from the match altogether following the violation, as his loss of temper turned into a full-blown meltdown.
As he imploded, a chorus of boos started to come from the crowd as frustration grew with his antics.
However, following the defeat, Medvedev admitted he felt detached from the second set as the result began to become clear.
‘I get angry, frustrated. This time completely with myself, not with anyone. Just with myself. Yeah, very frustrated,’ said Medvedev.
‘I mean, tough break point. Shank, on the line. I was like, Whatever, I lost the match. I don’t care. I mean, you have to finish the match. You cannot withdraw, no? I just finished the match.’
His opponent on the night, Fritz, saw the funny side of the situation and even confessed that he struggled to disguise his laughter.
The Russian star started to bizarrely juggle his racquet in the second set as he lost the plot
Medvedev also threatened to retire form the match after being handled a penalty point
‘I was laughing, I think he’s funny, honestly,’ said Fritz. ‘Even when he’s not playing against me, he always makes me laugh.
‘I laughed in between points when he was juggling with his racket. That’s just him. He had his racket upside down going 0-40, yet he managed to get the return in.
‘I had to tell myself, ‘Focus.’ After seeing the way he played at 5-2, I knew he would try to break. Sometimes when your opponents make it seem like they’re not even trying, you can lose focus.’
