Daniil Medvedev 'lucky' not to be banned from Laver Cup as Russian speaks about incident | Tennis | Sport

Daniil Medvedev admitted he was “lucky” that referee Mohamed Layhani decided not to call his match invalid in his Laver Cup showdown with Ben Shelton after he accidentally threw his racket into the crowd.

The incident occurred in the first set tiebreak, just before the Russian won the first set and took control of the match.

But Shelton fought back, taking the second set and then winning the ensuing tiebreaker, in which the winner played to ten to secure the victory.

Medvedev and Shelton played out a close first set with both players battling for dominance, but after hitting a long shot that gave the American two set points, the 2021 US Open champion slammed his racket into the ground.

The racket bounced high and flew into the stands, where it narrowly missed being hit by a spectator. Medvedev ultimately received a warning and was able to continue playing.

“I didn't want to throw it the way I threw it,” Medvedev explained after the match. “I wanted to throw it in one place – so [it] was terrible of me. I was lucky. I didn't touch anyone. In tennis, if you don't touch anyone, you don't get disqualified. So that's it. [But] I shouldn’t do this.”

World team captain John McEnroe apparently discussed the racket throw with Layhani, while World team player Frances Tiafoe was upset that Medvedev was allowed to continue playing.

The referee said to Tiafoe, “Frances, the ball bounced and didn't hit anyone. The result was not bad. The result was not bad. If it had hit anyone, I agree with you.”

And after the match, Shelton commented on the incident: “When he first threw the ball and I saw the reaction of the woman the ball was aimed at, I thought the ball was aimed directly at her head. But Mohamed told me that the video shows that the ball was about four meters away.

“I wouldn't condone throwing a bat into the crowd. It was obviously an accident. He threw it onto the court.”

“Fortunately, no one was hurt. But after he explained it to me, I definitely didn't think Medvedev should be delayed.”

Medvedev's defeat ultimately proved not costly for the European team, as they won the weekend in Berlin 13-11. Alexander Zverev defeated Tiafoe in Sunday's penultimate match, while Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz in the final meeting of the competition.