Already in the fourth round of the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, our tennis player got a really strong opponent. Having recovered from the injury, Alexander Zverev looks more powerful with each tournament, so the fans of Daniil Medvedev had something to worry about.

However, in this game, Medvedev’s opponents were not only Zverev. Danya again criticized the organizers for the quality of the coverage and, apparently, the court answered him. In the key moment of the second set, the Russian collapsed dramatically, twisting his ankle.

Everyone thought that Daniil would refuse to continue the fight, but our tennis player sent the German home in great style.

“I don’t care about warnings”

The series of victories of the sixth racket of the world is impressive: Medvedev took three tournaments in a row and, before meeting with Zverev, had 16 wins on the tour. However, in the US, it no longer looks so perfect, and according to the player, “terribly slow hard” is to blame. It is no coincidence that in the match against the Belarusian Ivashko, our athlete even lost one set.

So the first game with the German did not portend an easy walk. Medvedev was wrong a lot, and in the 12th game, with the score 5:6, he simply gave Zverev a triple set point. However, he managed to pull out his pitch and transferred the game to a tie-break.

The decisive game took place in an extremely tight fight and long draws, where the German was a little more accurate, taking the first set. Irritated Medvedev did not restrain his emotions:

“I’ll go to the toilet and I don’t care about the warning. I’ll be slow like this court. It’s a disgrace to the sport. You can’t play here, it should be banned. And this terrible court is also called hard. If we are allowed to play on such a court, I allow myself to do whatever I want, – Medvedev expressed dissatisfaction.

Photo: © Harry How / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

terrible fall

After this tirade, Danya got up and deliberately slowly went into the room under the stands. On the face of Zverev at that moment there was a smirk and incomprehension of what was happening:

What is he doing? What it is? Alexander turned to the judge.

However, he was unable to quickly return Medvedev to the court. I had to wait. Returning to the court, the Russian continued the game in approximately the same vein, waiting for the opponent’s mistakes and the perfect moment for a break.

The chance fell in the sixth game. Score 3:2 in favor of Medvedev, Zverev’s serve and one break point from the Russian. However, instead of a game, Daniil got injured: he twisted his leg a little awkwardly and literally collapsed onto the court to the sigh of the stands. Daniil did not even try to get up, despite the concern of the referee and the opponent, who surrounded our player.

Photo: © Panoramic / Keystone Press Agency / Global Look Press

Anyone at this point would have thought the game was over. The medical staff conjured over Medvedev’s ankle for about 10 minutes, but no one waited to give up the fight. Naturally, the whole process of bandaging was accompanied by curses from Dani. This, of course, is a separate and extremely entertaining spectacle.

Game Medvedev lost, the set again went to a tie-break, during which Dana succeeded in a phenomenal beauty smash from the back line at a moment when Zverev was supposed to win the rally. This, as well as the improved first serve, became the key to success – the score in the games was equalized.

Psychological superiority

Despite local success, the Russian continued to use the services of a medical worker who massaged his left thigh. Yes, and on the court, Medvedev periodically limped – the damage made itself felt.

At the same time, in game moments, Zverev’s opponent was much more collected than at the beginning of the match. But the German seemed to have a slight loss of concentration. No, he did not stop serving powerfully and also tried to quickly complete the draws, but Medvedev learned to cope with his aggression, sometimes pulling out crazy balls. Alexander began to make mistakes more often.

Danya even made a break and went out to serve for the match with the score 5:4. But he unexpectedly spoiled the flawless statistics of the third set on his serve and allowed the German to return to the game (5:5).

What happened next with Zverev is hard to say, but he immediately lost his serve. Medvedev did not give his opponent a second chance and finished the game (7:5) and the match (6:7, 7:6, 7:5).

Photo: © Harry How / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

In a game that lasted more than three hours and was overshadowed by serious damage, Danya still proved to be stronger and won his 17th victory in a row. Mentally, he is stronger than any opponent on the Tour at the moment. So on the way to the next trophy, he should only worry about his leg.