Daniil Medvedev’s 49-Minute Meltdown: Racquet Obliterated at Monte Carlo Masters

Former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev lost his cool during a match at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday, violently smashing his racquet against the red clay court no fewer than seven times before tossing the wreckage into a rubbish bin during a humiliating 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Matteo Berrettini.

Currently ranked 10th, Medvedev incurred a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct and is likely to face a substantial fine for his behaviour early in the second set.

The situation deteriorated for Medvedev when he hit a forehand into the net, dropping his opening service game of the second set and falling behind 2-0.

He then struck his racquet against the baseline in frustration, only to retrieve it moments later and hurl it towards a tarp at the end of the court.

Not yet finished, Medvedev continued to pick up his racquet and smash it until it was sufficiently mangled to fit through the opening of a courtside rubbish bin, with the crowd responding with sarcastic cheers.

The 2021 US Open champion completed the match in a mere 49 minutes.

Medvedev recorded five double faults compared to Berrettini’s none, with only 36 per cent of his first serves landing in play against Berrettini’s 65 per cent, winning just 17 out of 67 points.

This performance marked a stark contrast to their previous three encounters, all of which had ended in Medvedev’s favour.

As per statistics from Opta, Berrettini became just the fifth player in the history of ATP Rankings (since 1973) to hand a top-10 opponent a 6-0, 6-0 defeat, commonly referred to as a double bagel. The last instance of this happening was a decade ago when David Goffin defeated Tomas Berdych at the Italian Open.

“I wouldn’t expect to win like that, and it doesn’t happen that often,” said Berrettini.

This match marked Medvedev’s first outing on clay this season, having recently triumphed over world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz to reach the final of Indian Wells in California.

Berrettini, a Wimbledon finalist in 2021 who has battled injuries in recent times, is currently ranked at No. 90 after earning a wild card invitation to compete in Monte Carlo.

“It was definitely one of the best performances of my life,” Berrettini remarked. “I think I missed only three shots throughout the match.”