In a comical move, Daniil Medvedev took a seat during his Wimbledon first-set match against Alexandre Muller before the match was even over.
The French outsider was facing Russian sensation Medvedev, 28, who is ranked No. 5 in the world, on Center Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Given his history of being a little hot-headed at times, Medvedev appeared agitated when the opening set went to a tiebreak and didn’t go his way.
When questioned, he appeared to convey to his teammates once more that the set was done as he sat down and grabbed up his towel.
He quickly realized, though, that the tiebreak was far from finished, and he raced back to his spot on the court in a humiliating manner.
Muller won the tiebreak 7-3, so Medvedev’s error had no effect on the outcome.
Nevertheless, Medvedev mounted a valiant comeback, winning the following three sets 7-6 (4), 6-4, and 7-5 to cruise into the tournament’s third round.
The Russian expressed his relief at winning, but he also revealed that he dislikes competing in Wimbledon’s main arena.
He remarked, “To be honest, it was a great match.” There were times during the game when things were harder than the score would indicate.
I’m therefore rather content with my level. I aspire to play many more matches on No. 1 Court, where I have yet to lose.
“Last year, I stated prior to the semifinals that I had to go to Center Court and I really didn’t win.”
“I got lucky this year and was able to practise on the center before the tournament; maybe that will give me an advantage later on, but right now I want to play on Court No. 1 and try to win.”