Medvedev's tight victory overshadowed by ball quality debacle

Saturday, 05 October 2024 at 11:46

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Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev started his participation in the Shanghai Masters with a tight victory. The Russian eliminated Thiago Seyboth Wild by double 7-5. In the middle of the disputed match, Medvedev called the tournament supervisor to complain about the condition of the Wilson balls, arguing that they were wearing out quickly.

According to the world No. 5 ranked player, the balls were "insufficient for professional tennis," noting that they deteriorated too quickly, even after five games. “To be honest, about the balls, it’s not only me. I talk in the locker room and it’s not only my feeling. My feeling at this point is at this point, the companies try to see how far they can go to make bad balls, and ATP doesn’t say anything.

"It’s ridiculous. I mean, Beijing, Shanghai, US Open was a bit better and Roland Garros was just… [shakes head]. In my opinion it’s not good enough balls for a professional level of tennis. If you see when I made some passing shots, I tried to hit the ball, it just doesn’t go from the racquet. It’s ridiculous.”

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A week ago, in Beijing, Medvedev had spoken about it after his victory against Ugo Humbert. On that occasion Daniil had criticized the balls because they were too difficult to control.

"From the warm-up, even before the match, it was difficult to control the ball, he said. "So I was a little bit, let's say nervous in a way."

The tennis player stressed that the instability in the quality of the balls affects not only the performance, but also the health of the players. Other tennis players, such as Zizou Bergs and Carlos Alcaraz, have agreed that the constant change of balls between tournaments can increase the risk of injury, especially in the wrist, although according to the Spaniard it is something that all tennis players must adapt to.

Nevertheless, Medvedev took an important victory in his debut and will be looking to improve on last year's performance in Shanghai, where he suffered an early defeat against Sebastian Korda in the second round of the tournament.

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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