(VIDEO) Daniil Medvedev accused of giving Paris Masters crowd a middle finger: "No, I was looking at my nail"

Daniil Medvedev had a hostile reception from the crowd at the Paris Masters and was defeated by Grigor Dimitrov.

World No. 3 had a tough day at the final Masters 1000 of the year and fell in the second round for the second consecutive year. This time, it was Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov who won a battle of almost three hours with a score of 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(2).

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Not only in terms of tennis, but Medvedev also faced issues with the local crowd, who booed him repeatedly. This led to the Russian arguing with the umpire, and at one point, he was determined not to continue playing.

“I get booed. I didn't see why, so I didn't want to play. Then I was, like, okay. ‘until they (stop), I'm not going to play,” Medvedev said.

“But the Bercy crowd doesn't stop booing. When I got a code (violation), I was, like, do I really want to get disqualified and finish the match on this note? No. So I went on to play,” former world No. 1 added.

Marcelo Burgos

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Otro capítulo más de #Medvedev vs. El Público… 🗣 "Ellos silban y yo no voy a jugar así. Son estupidos, dejen de silbar mientras juego. Ni hice nada para que me silbaran".

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Medvedev also responded to the accusation that he had raised his middle finger to the fans:

“I just checked my nails, like this, it's nothing more than that. Why would I do that to this beautiful crowd in Paris Bercy?” he asked.

The Tennis Letter

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Daniil Medvedev was asked if he was giving the middle finger to the crowd: “Middle finger? No. I was looking at my nail. Why would I do that to this beautiful Parisian crowd?” 😂

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The 27-year-old athlete, who resides in France and is fluent in the language, mentioned that the public's reaction is not necessarily related to the country but rather to the specific audience attending the matches:

“It kind of doesn't really have to do anything with France or not France. I think it just depends the tournament, the way I act, the way the crowd acts. In general, I have a lot of French friends, and they don't seem to like very much this tournament. Maybe there is a reason.”

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"I'm not going to play": Daniil Medvedev refuses to continue play due to crowd at 2023 Paris Masters

Medvedev, who was the champion of the tournament in 2021, admitted that he doesn't feel comfortable playing in the Paris Masters and that maybe it won't be a part of his schedule in a couple of years:

“Not everyone likes to play here in Paris for this reason. I played in Bercy much better when there was no crowd at all in attendance (during the pandemic). There are some tournaments to which I like to come back, and here, well, I have problems with the crowd. It happens. Maybe in two years we won't play here.”

“I don't want to say the worst. Well, we have 60 players. 30 of them will love it; 10 players will think that it's not relevant,” he concluded.

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