(Paris) World No.3 Daniil Medvedev was eliminated at the start of the Masters 1000 in Paris by Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2) in the second round Wednesday, in a meeting marked by a clash between the Russian and the Parisian public.

After a first set conceded 6-3, the tone rose between Medvedev, known for his mood swings, and the Bercy public. Whistled after throwing his racket when he allowed Dimitrov to come back from 5-2 to 5-5 in the second set, the Russian told the referee: “I’m not going to play when they whistle.”

“You have to go play. The more you stop [de jouer]the more it annoys them, the more they whistle,” the latter replied.

” They’re stupid ! If they don’t whistle, I play! », continued Medvedev.

“Hey, you [ne] don’t whistle, I’m playing guys, but shut your mouths, ok! », he addressed the spectators directly.

“I don’t play like that! I didn’t do anything to make them whistle at me,” persisted the world No.3, titled in 2020 in Paris.

The discussion ultimately earned him a warning for overtime, but did not prevent him from pocketing the second set on his seventh set point.

Trailing 5 games to 2 in the third set, Medvedev delayed the deadline until the decisive tiebreaker and repelled six match points – including one after an exchange of 47 shots – but Dimitrov (17^e) ended up concluding on its seventh occasion, in just under three hours.

Middle fingers

Once the match was over, Medvedev still did not seem to have digested the incident: he left the court giving the audience the finger.

Asked at a press conference after the match, the Russian said he had simply “looked at his nails”.

“When I throw my racket, I have the right to be whistled, it’s a “bad reaction”, he said. “On the other hand, if I’m serving and they whistle and clap at the same time, it’s a little weird.”

“It’s the public at Bercy, everyone knows it, not everyone likes to play here. I played much better at Bercy when there was no one there,” he said, mentioning his victory in 2020 in an edition behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Here, with me, it doesn’t connect.”

Attentive to the project to relocate the Masters 1000 in Paris, in particular to the Paris La Défense Arena, he assured that even if the tournament remained in Bercy, “it would come back”.

“Paris-Bercy remains a legendary tournament, with many good winners of which I am one and even if it stays here, I will come back and try to do my best,” he concluded, believing that he was always possible to “put the public on my side”.

In the round of 16, Dimitrov will face Kazakh Alexander Bublik (33^e), heartthrob of Frances Tiafoe (14^e) 6-3, 6-3 in the first round and winner of the Chilean Nicolas Jarry (20^e) 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7-3) to the next one.

After the eliminations of Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday and Carlos Alcaraz against the Russian Roman Safuillin on Tuesday (6-3, 6-4), world No.1 Novak Djokovic must enter the fray in the afternoon, facing the ‘Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry (31^e).

The last Frenchman still in the running, Ugo Humbert (26^e), challenges the German Alexander Zverev (9^e) for a place in the round of 16.