Denis Shapovalov has been defended by Daniil Medvedev following his controversial disqualification from the DC Open for a mid-match incident.
Daniil Medvedev has leapt to the defence of rival Denis Shapovalov
Daniil Medvedev slammed tennis bosses as he waded into the row over Denis Shapovalov’s disqualification at the DC Open. The Canadian was defaulted during his match against Ben Shelton at the ATP 500 event after interacting with a spectator.
It was alleged that Shapovalov swore at the fan before getting into an argument with the umpire. On top of his disqualification, Shapovalov was initially stripped of his prize money and ranking points, only to get both back on appeal.
However, the 25-year-old still had to pay a £28,000 fine. The handling of Shapovalov’s punishment has triggered plenty of debate, with Medvedev being asked for his view during the current Canadian Open in Montreal.
The Russian didn’t hold back, accusing the ATP of expecting players to act like robots. He said: “I don’t think Denis should have been disqualified.
“From what you hear on TV, he deserved a warning and maybe a fine after the match, but that’s it. So I was really very surprised. I think the ATP is doing some good things and some not so good things at the moment, but I have the impression that they don’t know where they are going.
“They want to be like Formula 1 and football. But in this case you can’t ask players to stay calm like robots, while around them there is a circus and a show. Things need to be clearer for the players and the spectators.”
Denis Shapovalov was disqualified from DC Open following an altercation with a member of the crowd
Even though his punishment was downgraded, Shapovalov remains unhappy and has pledged to protest against the fine. Writing on X this week, he said: “I continue to feel shocked and disappointed over the decision to disqualify me from my match against Ben in Washington. It was not fair to me, him or anyone that was there to watch the match.
“I of course immediately submitted my appeal to the ATP and I am pleased and thankful with the quick decision to reinstate my points and prize money. I must state however that I do not agree with the hefty fine I was given, which is more than half the prize money I earned last week, and will continue to fight that.
“We will work extremely hard – our tennis careers are our lives and should not be derailed by unnecessary, subjective ruling. I also hope the ATP can put better rules in place for protecting players from abusive fans.”
Meanwhile, Medvedev suffered an early exit in Montreal, suffering a surprise defeat to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard came through in three sets 6-4 1-6 6-2.
World number one Jannik Sinner opened his defence of the tournament with a straight sets win over Borna Coric. Italian Sinner had missed the Paris Olympics with tonsillitis, but showed no signs of any lingering issues as he coasted to a 6-2 6-4 win over Croatian Coric in just over an hour and a half.
Australian Open champion Sinner – who paired up with British number one Jack Draper in the doubles, making it through to the quarter-finals – will face Alejandro Tabilo in the third round after the Chilean later beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-2.
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