Daniil Medvedev became the center of controversy again, this time at the Paris Masters. He took on Ignacio Buse in the Round of 32 and suffered a shock 6-4, 6-4 defeat. But the result wasn’t the main talking point of the match. It was instead the code violation that Medvedev received for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Russian was handed the penalty after he swiped the court with his racket, with the second set level at 4-4. However, Medvedev didn’t agree with the decision and maintained his stance after the match.

“I think I didn’t deserve the code violation, but that’s their choice,” he told BB Tennis, as translated into Russian.

Medvedev didn’t take the code violation lightly and decided to stop playing. He calmly walked towards his bench and even packed up his racket. The supervisor was soon called in, and the 30-year-old had a long argument with him. He then confronted the chair umpire Adel Nour and asked why he was handed the code violation.

“How many times [did I hit the court]?” Medvedev asked the chair umpire. “Almost like five,” he replied. The World No. 5 was incensed by the reply and argued that his offence wasn’t that serious. “Five? What if it’s not five? You say sorry after the match if it’s not five?” he asked.

Nour mentioned that two marks on the court were made due to Medvedev’s repeated swipes. However, the latter still didn’t agree with him. “Two? You just said five. Five times. Five times. You give me your word that it’s five times? Approximately?” he argued.

Fortunately, the matter didn’t escalate any further, and Medvedev returned to the baseline. Not only did he lose his cool, but he also lost his momentum as Buse held his serve before clinching the decisive break to seal the victory. This was a huge result for the Peruvian, who faced Medvedev for the first time in a tour-level match.

As for Medvedev, the defeat appeared to be a major hit to morale, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. He will be participating in the ATP Finals next week, which will be his last tournament of the season. However, he doesn’t seem to be excited about it and simply wants the year to end.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I no longer have the desire to play this season, but I’ll have to,” he said in the same interaction.

Like almost every year, Medvedev has had several arguments with chair umpires this season as well. He was also a part of controversial incidents throughout the season, with the last one occurring at the China Open, where he was disqualified on the spot during a match.

Daniil Medvedev was disqualified for accidentally hitting a spectator at the China Open

The incident occurred during the semifinal clash between Medvedev and Novak Djokovic. The Serb led 7-5, 5-3 when the match was unexpectedly halted. It turns out that Medvedev failed to reach one of Djokovic’s shots, and the ball rebounded off the advertising wall that was quite close to the stands.

Medvedev took a swipe at it out of frustration. But the ball flew straight into the stands and hit a spectator sitting in the front row. The ball hit the fan’s eye, and he was quickly escorted out of the court by the medical staff.

But Medvedev’s actions didn’t go unpunished. Though he didn’t commit the offence intentionally, he was still defaulted, and Djokovic was awarded the victory. There was no argument over the decision, as Medvedev accepted it and shook Djokovic’s hand right away after the ruling.

Medvedev later visited the hospital to personally apologize to the fan. He also allegedly presented a signed racquet with the words “I am sorry” written on it. Fortunately, the spectator didn’t sustain any serious injury due to the incident.