After a heated argument with the chair umpire during his second-round victory over Gael Monfils at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev asked fans if the balls he played were “in or out.” Medvedev lost his temper with chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani following multiple errors from the line judges in the fourth game of the second set, where they incorrectly ruled the ball out twice during his 30-0 service game. Medvedev ultimately won the match against Monfils 6-2, 6-4.
The chair umpire asked Medvedev not to yell, admitting that a mistake had been made by the linesman. Despite appearing dominant during a long rally, one of Monfils’ shots was ruled out, and Medvedev hit a clean winner but was not awarded the point after the umpire checked the ball mark and gave the point to Monfils. Nonetheless, the TV Hawkeye system clearly showed the ball was out. Another error occurred in the following point when one of Monfils’ shots that landed beyond the baseline was called in, but this time the chair umpire correctly intervened, calling the ball out and giving the point to Medvedev. Medvedev posted a cheeky victory message on social media questioning the close line calls in the match.
Following the back-to-back errors, Lahyani advised Medvedev not to escalate the situation, reminding him that linesmen can make mistakes. Although Medvedev remained quiet during the game, he expressed his frustration with Lahyani during the changeover, arguing that the situation was absurd and questioning how he lost the game with an out ball.
In the next round of the Monte-Carlo Masters, Medvedev is set to face fellow Russian Karen Khachanov. Medvedev has won five out of their six matches on the tour, with all encounters taking place on hard courts. Their upcoming clash in Monte-Carlo will mark their first meeting on clay.
