Brad
Gilbert criticized
Daniil Medvedev’s outburst after he threw his racket into
the crowd during the
Laver Cup. The world No. 5 suffered a surprising defeat
against Ben Shelton in three sets, leaving Team Europe in a delicate situation
after his second consecutive loss in the tournament.
Gilbert,
former coach of Coco Gauff, urged players to follow
Andy Roddick’s advice on
how to deal with frustration on the court. Medvedev lost the first singles
match of the day in a tight contest against Shelton, 6-7, 7-6, 10-7. He had
already lost to Frances Tiafoe on Saturday.
The tense
tiebreak of the first set had Shelton leading 5-4 when one of Medvedev’s shots
went long, giving two set points to his rival. During the changeover, the
Russian claimed he was playing “the worst tennis of his life” and had a fit of
rage, throwing his racket into the crowd.
Medvedev
only received a warning, while Team World members, including Frances Tiafoe,
Thanasi Kokkinakis, and John McEnroe, were expecting a disqualification. Tiafoe
was the most vocal in protesting to chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani, who explained
that since Medvedev didn’t hit anyone, no further action was necessary:
“Frances, it bounced and it didn’t hit anyone. The result was not bad. If it
had hit someone, I’d agree with you," Lahyani was heard saying.
Former Coco
Gauff coach
Brad Gilbert shared his thoughts on the 2021 US Open champion's
drama, stating that Medvedev was lucky to avoid suspension. The American also
suggested that the rules on this matter should be reviewed: “Meddy Bear (Daniil
Medvedev) was pretty lucky in that racket chuck, maybe at some point this rule
needs to be reexamined more closely alongside umpires’ decisions,” he wrote on
X.
The coach
urged players to watch Andy Roddick’s tutorial on how to throw a racket: “1st
of all, players need to be way more careful and rewatch (Andy Roddick) tutorial
on throwing a racket or firing a ball in anger,” opined Brad Gilbert, who
previously coached Roddick.
In the
video, Roddick, the former world No. 1, hilariously demonstrates the best way
to vent frustration without harming others.