Daniil Medvedev’s stunning meltdown during his 6-0 6-0 defeat against Matteo Berrettini instantly became a viral social media moment, but former world No 1 doubles player Jamie Murray suggested it should ‘never have happened’.
Medvedev was taken apart by a brilliant performance from former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini, who made the most of his wild card in Monte Carlo to secure a convincing win.
The anguish Medvedev was living through was evident long before he lost his temper on court, with the violence of his racket smash leaving the frame in pieces before he put the remains in a courtside bin.
Murray was watching the drama unfold in the Sky Sports commentary box and he was not impressed by what he saw.
“I think he was doing it for the show,” said Murray, as he talked over images of Medvedev smashing his racket time and again amid cheers from a laughing audience in Monte Carlo.
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“You don’t really like to see it. Also, some of the throws when that racket leaves your hand, it’s completely out of your control. Who knows where it’s going to end up.
“It was 2-0 at that point and it didn’t get any better for him.”
When asked about how the crushing defeat will impact Medvedev, he added: “I’m not sure how it’s going to affect him moving forward. I’m sure he’s going to be pretty embarrassed walking back into the locker room.
“I’d be wanting to get off-site pretty quickly if that was the performance I had put in.
“Obviously, he talks about clay not being her favourite surface, he won in Rome and if you can win there, then you can play on clay.
“It was a big surprise to see him go down with a couple of eggs (6-0 sets). Well done to Berrettini because that is not easy to do.”
Remarkably, Medvedev didn’t have a single game point in any of his service games during the match, with his opponent suggesting he played flawless tennis.
“I think it was one of the best performances of my life,” Berrettini said. “I think I missed three shots in the entire match and it is not easy against a tricky player like Daniil. I think the game plan was perfect and my weapons were working.
“I faced two break points in the first game and then after that it felt I was playing better than him. I was not expecting to win zero, zero like that. But I kept my focus as I know one break or two breaks is not enough sometimes, so I kept pushing.”
Berrettini will now take on Brazilian wonderkid Joao Fonseca in the last-16, in what looks certain to be a spectacular contest in front of the Monte Carlos fans.
READ NEXT: WATCH: Daniil Medvedev obliterates his racket in astonishing 49-minute Monte Carlo Masters loss
The post Jamie Murray hits out at Daniil Medvedev and says violent racket smash was ‘just for the show’ appeared first on Tennis365.
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