It's Better Not to Go for This

On the first day of the ATP Finals, we witnessed a rather questionable performance by Daniil Medvedev who seems to have arrived in Turin with his cup completely overflowing in terms of mental and physical fatigue. The Russian lost control and put on a shameful display that angered the fans in the stands and drew criticism from a large part of the tennis world for his actions.

At a certain point in his match against Fritz, Medvedev decided to stop competing at his best and started his show with the racket, throwing it to the ground, juggling with it, or playing returns by holding the frame, an image that quickly spread like wildfire on social media. Later, in the press conference after finishing his match in 80 minutes, Medvedev also failed to control what came out of his mouth.

"I will be happy if I get eliminated. This is the first time I say this, but I want the year to be over. I am tired of fighting with things that are beyond my control," said Daniil, who seems to be reaching the eleventh month of the season with a red flag and no desire to continue battling.

Understandable his frustration, but not the way to vent it

We always say that tennis is the most demanding sport because it requires you to never give up and to be in the right mindset for 11 out of the 12 months of the year, with your physical condition on point for the challenges ahead in a calendar that barely allows for rest. Understanding the frustration Daniil may feel, venting it in front of everyone at a tournament like this is not the right way to do it.

We are talking about the most prestigious ATP tournament on the entire circuit, second only to the Grand Slams. A tournament marketed as premium worldwide, as evidenced by the significant increase in ticket prices for this 2024 edition. On average, spectators of the Medvedev-Fritz match paid around 280 euros (excluding other expenses like transportation, accommodation, or meals) to witness what the Russian did on the court, giving up towards the end.

That is not the behavior expected from a professional. It is not the image that tennis can sell to the world to get people hooked on this sport, having a player who claims to be tired of everything and not wanting to be there, making a mockery of his lack of competitiveness. Everyone has the right to express their frustration, but always while respecting the image of this sport and being professional.

For this, it's better not to go

Medvedev had a great opportunity to withdraw from the tournament through two paths. The first, the politically correct approach used by 99% of the players on the circuit, would be to claim an injury. This has been a common practice in recent times. Faced with the ATP's requirement for players to always participate in these ATP tournaments, players use the excuse of an injury to avoid competing. Daniil, who has been dealing with shoulder discomfort, could have easily done the same. If he didn't want to play, the best thing he could have done is to cite that injury as the reason for his withdrawal. None of this would have happened, and another player, Dimitrov, in this case, would have taken his spot and been thrilled to play in this tournament.

The second, potentially less well-received, would have been to withdraw citing mental exhaustion and an inability to continue. To express a need to end the season and therefore not participate in Turin. Of course, what we might need to know is if such statements carry a significant fine from the ATP, but it would have been a good example to set for others to address the excessive demands of the calendar.

Either way, if he wasn't in the right condition, no one forced him to play this tournament. It would have been better to give up his spot to another player before putting on the show he did. For this, it's better not to go. The image of tennis must be preserved. These incidents have a more significant impact than one might think. The worst part is that instead of apologizing for it, later on, he continued to criticize the establishment. If this is his way of fighting for change, we are in trouble.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Para esto, mejor no ir