The Monte Carlo Masters proved to be nothing short of a nightmare for Daniil Medvedev. Though it isn’t like he hasn’t had rough days in the past, this time, no one expected the former World No.1 to suffer a double bagel in his opening round. So when Matteo Berrettini cruised past him 6-0, 6-0, a meltdown was expected at any moment. It happened early in the second set when Medvedev’s frustration spilled over, and he broke his racket after slamming it 7 times onto the court. Now, after the dust has settled, the reactions of fellow pros are quite clear.

Though players breaking rackets out of anger isn’t anything new, there are many who refrain from doing so, no matter what. World No. 23 Valentin Vacherot can be counted among such players. He even had a cheeky reply in store when asked if he could behave like Medvedev and break his racket mid-match.

“Whatever happens, I won’t break my racket. After that, I think my team would like me to break a racket from time to time, but in this case, I get hurt with the racket. So they prefer that I don’t. Since the beginning of the tournament, it has been the towel box that has been kicked by me,” Vacherot said at a press conference.

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The Monegasque pro isn’t alone in that mindset. Rafael Nadal, the greatest clay-court player in history, lived by the same principle. Across more than 20 years and 1,300 matches, Rafa has never smashed a racket in anger. He believes it shows a loss of control, choosing composure instead. It’s a lesson he credits to his uncle, Toni Nadal. Among the current generation, Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud have also maintained that same calm, never breaking a racket in competition.

On the other hand, there is a stark contrast between Vacherot and Daniil Medvedev’s campaign at the Monte Carlo Masters. The Monegasque has made it to the quarterfinals after defeating three tough opponents in the tournament. He had first recorded a hard-fought 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Vacherot then went on to upset Lorenzo Musetti 7-6, 7-5 before knocking out Hubert Hurkacz 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the Round of 16. It has already turned out to be quite an impressive tournament for the 27-year-old, and he will be aiming to go even further as he comes up against Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals.

Coming back, the first-round exit at Monte Carlo can severely affect Medvedev’s place in the top 10 of the ATP rankings. With World No. 11 Alexander Bublik just 265 points behind him and still alive in the tournament, the Russian can slip down the rankings very soon.

This was the first time that Medvedev had lost an ATP match without getting on the board. He only won a total of 17 points during the encounter against Berrettini and even had 27 unforced errors. Things went wrong from the start, and he lost the match before he realized it.

What made this loss even more surprising was that Medvedev wasn’t low on form coming into the Monte Carlo Open. In fact, he had made it to the final at the Indian Wells Masters after defeating World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semis. The Russian has already lifted two titles this season as he triumphed at the Brisbane International and Dubai Championships.

The defeat to Berrettini once again highlighted Medvedev’s struggles on clay. Though he has won 23 ATP titles so far in his career, only one of them has come on the surface. Clay seems to challenge the 30-year-old the most, and he shows no signs of improving his relationship with the surface anytime soon.

If losing decisively to the Italian wasn’t enough, Medvedev also drew heavy criticism for his behavior on court during the match.

Daniil Medvedev slammed for “embarrassing” behavior in Monte Carlo

Two-time doubles Grand Slam champion Jamie Murray feels that Medvedev wouldn’t be proud of his on-court behavior against Berrettini. He also thinks such a defeat could deal a major blow to his morale moving forward.

“It is shocking, and it shouldn’t happen, but it did. I don’t know how much effect that will have on him going forward, but I’m sure he will be pretty embarrassed walking back to the locker room, and I’d be wanting to get off site pretty quickly, I think, if that was the performance I put in today,” Murray said on Sky Sports Tennis.

On the other hand, former World No. 4 and prominent tennis coach, Brad Gilbert, pointed out how Medvedev could have hurt someone in the stands by the way he smashed his racket onto the turf.

“Meddy is so lucky that racket didn’t jump off the clay into the stands and hurt someone. Once again, players need to watch Andy Roddick tutorial on how to throw a racket properly, maybe AR should repost or do another one,” Gilbert wrote on X.

After an abysmal run at the Monte Carlo Open, Medvedev will return to action at the Madrid Masters, starting April 22. He’ll look to turn his form around on clay this time. His recent struggles on the surface raise the question of how he will bounce back from them.