Follow us on Google Discover Daniil Medvedev defeated Learner Tien on Wednesday to set up a Shanghai Masters quarterfinal against Alex de Minaur.
Medvedev raged at the umpire in a rollercoaster match against Tien, but he finally managed to oust the American in three sets to progress at the Shanghai Masters.
Medvedev praised Tien after beating him in Shanghai, and he’d be forgiven for not doing so.
By his usual high standards, the 2021 US Open champion was dumped out of the Australian Open by Tien, who was playing his first major tournament back in January.
That started an alarming slump for Medvedev, who has won just one match at a major all year and now the Russian has finally got the better of the youngster.
Something did get under the skin of Medvedev during his latest clash with Tien, however, and it’s time for the ATP to change their rules somewhat.
Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty ImagesThe ATP must change one ridiculous rule
In most other sports, an injury to a participant is followed by a medical professional treating them.
However, tennis has a knack for creating weird little quirks that, quite frankly, don’t make a lot of sense.
At the end of the second set, Medvedev was raging after he was refused medical attention for his severe cramp, as per the ATP rulebook as it stands.
As things stand, the ATP treatment for cramping can only take place during changeovers or set breaks and not with a medical time-out.
The only option Medvedev would have had in the situation he found himself in was to forfeit the relevant points to get to the changeover, which he was never going to do.
This is elite sport, and fans pay a lot of money to watch the very best in action, not watch them hobble on as they try desperately to hang in the game with their legs cramping under brutal conditions.
Medvedev had every right to bemoan the decision
These conditions have proved absolutely awful for the players, with a number of withdrawals across the tournament.
Players do know what to expect in Shanghai as it’s the same every year, but it never gets any easier.
Medvedev was right to bemoan the whole situation, and at tournaments of this nature, it makes complete sense to tweak the rule ever so slightly.
Everyone knows that Medvedev isn’t backwards in coming forwards, but when it comes to this rule, he’s most certainly got a point.