Earlier today, Grigor Dimitrov put an end to the campaign of Daniil Medvedev at Paris Masters. The Bulgarian star held his nerves to defeat Medvedev in a three-set thriller. It was an unexpected defeat for the former World Number 1, as he was expected to dig deep in the tournament. The Russian star was dejected as a result, and another unfortunate incident during the match added to his agony. After the match, Medvedev clarified his stance on that event.

The 27-year-old was captured on camera, showing his middle finger to the Parisian crowd. The move received severe backlash all across as Medvedev rushed to his defense. Here’s what he said.

Daniil Medvedev calls out the local crowd

During the post-match interview after his second-round defeat against Dimitrov, Medvedev reflected on his defeat. Further, he was asked to provide his mindset, which resulted in him losing his cool in front of a hostile Parisian crowd.

Talking about it, he said, “The match was good, actually. It was hard to have two tournaments back to back. I had to fight to gain confidence. Grigor is quite in good shape right now. It is difficult because the balls are different, but I fought till the end. As for the public, if we take the whole match that last three hours, there were just two minutes, five minutes. At 5-All during the second set, and during the third set I think I threw the racquet, and when I throw the racquet, I can be booed.”

Further, he went on to add, “I mean, it’s normal that I should be booed. But if I’m serving and they applaud and I’m being booed, that’s another kettle of fish. But everybody knows that we lack focus when that happens. Not everyone likes to play here in Paris for this reason. I played in Bercy much better when there was no crowd at all in attendance.”

The Russian star faced heavy backlash on social media for showing his middle finger after the match. However, he justified his actions with a bizarre reason.

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Medvedev’s stance on the unfortunate act

As soon as the incident became viral on social media, Medvedev started facing heat for his actions. Subsequently, in the aftermath of that incident, he explained how that situation unfolded.

Medvedev said that he was just looking at his nails and as a result, it appeared that he was showing his middle finger. However, in reality, he never intended to be disrespectful to the beautiful Parisian crowd. He even went on to say that he has many French friends who don’t like this tournament and hence he plays better when there is less crowd.

With the ATP Tour Finals coming up, Medvedev will hope to quickly forget this incident and move ahead. Can he finish his season on a high? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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