When it comes to speaking his mind, Daniil Medvedev never bites his tongue. The Russian just booked his third quarterfinal at the Shanghai Masters after taking down the rising star, Learner Tien. Earlier this season, he had lost to the 19-year-old sensation twice—once at the Australian Open and again at the China Open. The latter was due to cramping that forced him to stop playing. At the time, Medvedev didn’t hold back, blasting the umpire for handing him a code violation warning for “not giving his best effort.” And now? The drama continues.

On Wednesday, the court buzzed with grit and intensity. Both players dug deep, refusing to give an inch. Medvedev’s serve became his secret weapon when it counted most, sealing fierce exchanges with precision. A standout moment came in a 29-shot rally during the first-set tiebreak, a jaw-dropping display of power and will from both sides. The crowd felt every shot.

Tension hit a peak when Medvedev exploded during a changeover. After yet another code violation call, he snapped, telling the umpire, “All my life, I’ve been serving & waiting for Rafa for 55 seconds. And you give me a code violation on the first occasion. I played Rafa 5 times, there was not one time I was ready to serve and he was ready to return. He didn’t get one time violation.” His words landed sharp—equal parts disbelief and dry humor—and lit up the moment instantly.

After a fan shared that clip online, journalist Pavvy G weighed in on Medvedev’s rant. He wrote, “Players are finally speaking up and have clearly had enough of the blatant double standards and how some players are treated more favourably than others. Huge respect to Medvedev for calling it as it is, more and more players are finally starting to speak up. Tennis is corrupt.” Could he be right, though? Well, matches between Rafa and Daniil have been intense and have included some heated clashes.

Every time these two have faced off, sparks fly. Between 2019 and 2022, they met six times on tour, and Rafael Nadal walked away a winner in five of them. Medvedev’s lone victory came at the 2020 ATP Finals, but every matchup between them has felt bigger than tennis—more like a mental duel wrapped in sweat, pride, and precision.

Their 2022 Australian Open final stands as a legend, stretching over five hours and brimming with narrative twists. Medvedev jumped to a two-set lead and seemed destined to break Nadal’s dominance, dominating rallies with relentless defense and forcing errors in lung-busting exchanges. But gradually, fatigue and pressure crept into Daniil Medvedev’s game, leading to rash drop shots and tactical errors as Nadal tightened his grip, fueling a passionate Melbourne crowd.

During critical moments, the stadium’s enthusiastic support for Nadal even forced the Spaniard to gesture for quiet before serving, underlining the volatile atmosphere. On the other hand, Rafael’s slow pace on serve hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Insiders call out Rafa on his serve time

Back in 2022, John McEnroe stirred things up, calling out Rafa for his famously slow pre-serve routines. The tennis legend claimed Nadal’s rituals take around 30 seconds every time and joked that umpires overlook it because of his superstar status. “Rafa has got his ritual that takes 30 seconds every time he plays a point,” McEnroe said. “If you’re that great you can get away with it. That’s one of the incentives of being the best — you get away with more, as evidenced by what I did at times on the court and what he does, in a totally classier way, though. Obviously, he’s not out there screaming at people or anything.”

According to the rules, Players get 25 seconds to reset between points and two full minutes between sets, with the shot clock keeping track of every tick. Still, this isn’t the first time someone’s accused him of bending the timing rules, and it probably won’t be the last. His rituals — the bottles, the shorts, the careful tucks and fidgets — have become as famous as his forehand.

Even Denis Shapovalov made the same complaint at the 2022 Australian Open. Fuming after losing to Nadal, he vented to the chair umpire Carlos Bernardes, shouting, “You guys are all corrupt,” when no time violation was issued. Later, he toned it down in his press conference, admitting he “misspoke” in the heat of the moment but stood by his frustration. “I think it’s unfair how much Rafa is getting away with,” he had said earlier, explaining that other matches run faster because “the refs have been on the clock after every point.” In his words, waiting while Nadal reset for over a minute felt like “a big joke.”

It echoes what Medvedev felt at Shanghai this season when he thought umpires timed him more strictly. But unlike old times, Daniil kept his composure through it all, showing how much he’s grown. He still brought his trademark spark, only now with a cooler head to match.

Daniil Medvedev retorts after the umpire makes an unbelievable call at the China Open

Facing 19-year-old Learner Tien, the former US Open champion began cramping badly late in the match and eventually had to retire midway through the third set. But right before walking off, things got heated — Medvedev was handed a stunning “best effort” code violation for not moving while returning serve.

Barely able to stand, the Russian ace looked shell-shocked when umpire Adel Nour accused him of lacking effort after Tien aced him with a simple serve down the middle. Medvedev froze, stared at the umpire, and called for the supervisor. Then came his fiery response: “You prefer that I retire? Say to the guys and the cameras that you prefer I retire. I’m giving my best effort so why the hell are you saying I’m not giving my best effort. Who are you to decide for me? Who are you? What’s your name?”

Turns out, the umpire got it wrong and Daniil Medvedev narrowly dodged a fine. The ATP later reviewed the footage, agreed it was a mistake, and cleared him completely. Their official statement read, “Upon reviewing the incident, the ATP Officiating has determined that the ‘Best Efforts’ code violation was issued in error. This was communicated to Medvedev + his team following the match, and no fine will be imposed.”

Now that he’s found redemption by beating Tien in Shanghai to reach the quarterfinals, all eyes are on Daniil Medvedev again. Can he keep that fire going against Alex de Minaur for a semifinal spot?