Indian Wells Grudge Match Today: Johnson vs Medvedev

Controversy! Johnson vs Medvedev Grudge Match at Citi Open

Steve Johnson and Daniil Medvedev had a hot-tempered clash on Wednesday late night on grandstand at the Citi Open that erupted into a grudge match.

“You seldom see tennis players get really mad at each other,” a photographer who was at the match told me. “But Steve Johnson and Medvedev got into it.”

I left the Fitzgerald Tennis Center right after Tennys Sandgren defeated Nick Kyrgios and unfortunately missed all the drama between 27-year-old Johnson and the #NEXTGEN Russian, who played each other once before, last month in Eastbourne (won by the 21-year-old 63 26 63).

Here’s what happened. #34 ranked Johnson won the first set 63 and was up a break in the second set. Both players were resting on a changeover and the chair umpire called “time.” That’s when Medvedev, ATP 50, suddenly asked for a medical timeout. It took the physio three or four minutes to get to the court and a further delay ensued. Johnson was understandably irritated at Medvedev’s stall tactic which of course was designed to distract the American’s following service game.

And of course it did. Medvedev broke Johnson who then shouted across the net at the young Russian who is based in Nice, France since age seven, “Nice injury time out you piece of sh**!” – according to the photographer who was present.

Medvedev ended up winning the second set 64 to force a third set deep past midnight before a sparse crowd. There were no other matches being played.

Johnson and Medvedev battled all the way to a third set tiebreaker which was won by the Russian 7-1.

The tricky Medvedev is no stranger to controversy. Last year at the Savannah Challenger Medvedev was disqualified for his choice of words during a match against Donald Young. Leading 15-40 against Young’s serve, Medvedev sat down in his changeover chair after he thought he won the point. But the chair umpire called his shot into question, and later ruled that it had gone out after stepping down from her seat and checking the baseline where the ball landed.

Medvedev who was trailing in the first set 1-3, spoke directly to the chair umpire, who was African American, as she began climbing back up to her seat. Spectators laughed at Medvedev’s comments before he added: ‘I know that you are friends. I am sure about it.’

Keith Crossland, the tournament’s supervisor, interrupted the game to have a discussion regarding Medvedev’s actions, before deciding to give the match victory to Young, 4-1.

Also this year at Wimbledon, Medvedev was fined $14,500 for throwing coins at the chair umpire following his second-round loss against Ruben Bemelmans. Medvedev had asked for a new umpire down 5-2 in the fifth set but he had his request denied. When Medvedev lost the fifth set (6-3) and match, he suddenly grabbed his wallet, began taking out coins, and tossed them at the umpire.

This Medvedev character is something isn’t he? He just might be the second-most controversial player in tennis today, second of course to Nick Kyrgios. If Medvedev can sustain this rate of antics and shenanigans, he could take over the ATP No. 1 ranking in the Race To Be Most Controversial Man On Tour by the end of the year.

Creating drama and controversy actually seems to have no effect on Medvedev’s performance. In fact, it may help. After beating Johnson in Washington, Medvedev followed it up 24 hours later with a straight set beatdown of wildcard Grigor Dimitrov 64 62.

Medvedev is definitely one to keep an eye on now. I tried to do a Biofile with Daniil yesterday afternoon on the grounds. He walked by and I asked if he could do a short interview, then I suddenly realized he might be playing later in the day and he said Yes he was. I said maybe we can talk after the match and he smiled and added that he’s playing late again. I was struck by his choirboy politeness. But underneath that pleasant exterior is a cunningly clever, very interesting young man who has an above average innate sense of how to win tennis matches without any fear of bending or stretching the rules or expressing his sincere thoughts and opinions of injustice or foul play.

Daniil Medvedev is just the kind of character the sport desperately needs.

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