Daniil Medvedev did not take kindly to a question over the controversy surrounding Russian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics after he battled through sweltering conditions to reach the quarter-finals.
Medvedev beat Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-2 3-6 6-2 on Wednesday in a match that was paused for 10 minutes due to on-court temperatures reaching 31 degrees Celsius, with humidity then adding to that.
The world number two had to receive medical attention on two occasions before he prevailed to tee up a last-eight tie with Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.
Top seed Novak Djokovic continued his march towards the medal matches with a routine win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, though in the doubles, Andy Murray's hopes of winning a historic fourth Olympic prize were shattered.
MEDVDEV'S TEMPER FRAYS IN THE HEAT
It had already been a stressful day for Medvedev. The 25-year-old replied "I can finish the match but I can die. If I die, are you going to be responsible?" when asked by chair umpire Carlos Ramos whether he could carry on playing against Fognini following two medical timeouts.
Medvedev's temper then boiled over in the media mixed zone when he was questioned over the contentious nature of Russian athletes competing at the Games.
The Russian flag is not represented in Tokyo due to sanctions against the country for state-sponsored doping offences. Russia is suspended from competing in global sporting events for two years – a ban that was reduced from an initial four-year punishment. Instead, athletes are competing under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
Medvedev was asked if he feels the Russian athletes are "carrying a stigma of cheaters".
Seemingly misunderstanding the question, Medvedev hardly held back in his reaction, saying: "That's the first time in my life I’m not gonna answer a question, man. And you should be embarrassed of yourself."
Before leaving the room, Medvedev subsequently told the press officer: "I think you should [remove] him from either the Olympic Games, either the tennis tournament. I don't wanna see him again in my interviews. Thanks."
MURRAY'S PARIS PARTICIPATION IN DOUBT
There was to be no fairytale title tilt for former world number one Murray. He won gold in the singles in London and Rio, and also managed a silver medal at the 2012 Games in the mixed doubles, but he and Joe Sailsbury suffered a defeat to Croatian pair Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig in the quarter-finals.
The British pair won the first set but failed to make their advantage count, with Croatia's duo coming back to win 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 10-7.
Murray will be 37 by the time the Paris Games come around, and as he continues to carefully manage his return from hip surgery, the Scot could well have made his Olympic farewell.
"I don't know. I don't know if I'll get the opportunity to play [in the Olympics] again," he conceded.
"I love every minute of playing the Olympics. I wish that today would have gone differently. I had another chance with Joe to win a medal. We were so close and that is just disappointing. There was some stuff I wish I could have done at the end of the match to try and help out more. But yeah, very disappointing."
MIXED BAG FOR TSITSIPAS
While Medvedev, Djokovic and Alexander Zverev all progressed into the last eight in the singles, there was no place for Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose hopes were ended by Ugo Humbert.
The Greek world number four suffered a seemingly innocuous leg injury in the second set tie-break and failed to recover in the decider as Frenchman Humbert claimed the biggest win of his career.
However, Tsitsipas was swiftly back on court to play in the mixed doubles alongside partner Maria Sakkari, and the duo claimed a comfortable 6-3 6-4 victory over Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Asked after that win to discuss what went wrong in his earlier defeat, Tsitsipas replied: "I figured out a few things later during the match, like really, really late.
"I think if I've had the same mindset or the same attitude, same vision that I had towards the very end of the match, I think things would have gone much, much smoother and better for me. It's something that I learned."
He also confirmed his injury was "nothing serious."
DJOKOVIC ON A ROLL
As expected, Djokovic is one win away from a shot at a medal in the singles, and he then followed up his victory over Davidovich Fokina by combining with Nina Stojanovic in the mixed doubles.
The Serbian pair beat Marcelo Melo and Luisa Stefani of Brazil 6-3 6-4 in just 70 minutes to book their place in the next round.
Djokovic will have the host nation against him in his next match, however, as he takes on Kei Nishikori, who is Japan's only hope of a singles medal after Naomi Osaka's exit.
Emma Raducanu to make comeback from injury at Auckland event in January
Emma Raducanu will make her comeback at the ASB Classic in Auckland next month.
The 21-year-old has not played a match since a heavy loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart in April. She subsequently withdrew from the Madrid Open and opted to undergo surgery on both wrists and one ankle.
Having initially targeted a comeback in late summer or early autumn, Raducanu has ended up missing the rest of the 2023 season.
Until recently there were doubts over whether she would make the start of next year but those have eased in recent weeks as she has stepped up her training.
And it has now been announced she will play at the WTA tournament in New Zealand beginning on January 1.
It will be Raducanu’s second appearance in Auckland and she will hope it is more positive than her debut in January, when she suffered an ankle injury during her second-round match and retired in tears.
The former US Open champion was able to recover to compete at the Australian Open but opted to undergo a procedure on her ankle to repair the damage in the spring.
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She criticised the “slippery” courts afterwards but has decided to accept a wild card to return.
Raducanu’s ranking has slipped to 296 and she faces a long road back to the top of the game, but it should give her the opportunity to fill in some of the steps she missed out thanks to her giant leap to stardom.
She can use a protected ranking of 103 to enter tournaments because of her long lay-off but that is currently not high enough to earn her a place in the main draw of the Australian Open.
Barring enough withdrawals of higher-ranked players, or a wild card, she will have to go through qualifying at a slam for the first time since her stunning title run in New York in 2021.
Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff, former world number one Caroline Wozniacki and Wimbledon semi-finalist Elina Svitolina are among the other names confirmed for the Auckland tournament.
Emma Raducanu faces Australian Open wait as Caroline Wozniacki handed wild card
Former champion Caroline Wozniacki has been awarded a wild card for the Australian Open but Emma Raducanu has missed out on the initial batch.
Raducanu has a protected ranking of 103 due to her lengthy absence from the tour following operations on both wrists and one ankle but that is not currently high enough to secure entry to next month’s grand slam tournament.
The 21-year-old’s status as a former slam champion and one of the most high-profile female players in the sport counts in her favour but most wild cards usually go to home players.
If Raducanu is not given a wild card, and there are not sufficient withdrawals among higher-ranked players to secure her place, she will have to go through qualifying – the avenue by which she sensationally triumphed at the US Open in 2021.
The good news is, after doubts about the pace of her recovery, she has stepped up training in recent weeks and appears on track to return at the start of next season.
Raducanu has not played a tournament since the WTA event in Stuttgart in April and her actual ranking has fallen to 296.
That is 54 places lower than former world number one Wozniacki, who came out of retirement last summer following a three-and-a-half-year hiatus in which she had two children.
View this post on InstagramThe Dane impressed, reaching the fourth round of the US Open, and she told The AO Show: “I have so many wonderful memories of Melbourne, and of course winning the Australian Open is an all-time career highlight.
“Melbourne’s one of my most favourite cities in the world, and I can’t wait to share it with my family and my kids.”
Wozniacki won her only slam title at Melbourne Park in 2018 before retiring at the same venue two years later.
The other initial wild cards for the tournament, which begins on January 14, have gone to Australian trio Kimberly Birrell, Olivia Gadecki and Taylah Preston.
Cameron Norrie links up with coach Stephen Huss in bid to rediscover form
Cameron Norrie has added a new coach to his team as he bids to regain form in 2024.
Australian Stephen Huss, who won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title with Wesley Moodie in 2005, will work alongside Norrie’s main coach Facundo Lugones.
The British number one struggled over the second half of the season, losing 12 of his 16 matches following a second-round exit at Wimbledon.
Norrie told the PA news agency: “It should be good. I’m doing 10 to 12 weeks with him, more the practice weeks, to help me, to help Facu and just to keep things fresh and to have a different eye.
“I don’t know him too well but I’ve heard a lot of good things about him, and I think he’ll be really good for the team in general.”
Norrie has worked with Argentinian Lugones, who he met while studying at Texas Christian University, for his entire professional career.
He has also had help from experienced Lawn Tennis Association coach James Trotman, who now works with Jack Draper, and his former TCU coach Devin Bowen but has decided to bring in someone permanent.
“It was kind of both of our idea but more so Facu,” said Norrie. “I think it’s key to keep it fresh with your coach. I travel so much with Facu. We’ve never had any issue with that but I think it’s good to have someone else.
“I had that already, I had James Trotman from the LTA and Devin Bowen still helping me, still doing weeks, but they couldn’t really give it enough time for me. I was asking a lot all the time, try to do weeks with Devin at TCU and having him fly but he’s busy with the school and then Trotters with Jack.
“So it was difficult but it should be good to have someone else. It doesn’t really change too much with Facu, he’s still going to do a lot of weeks and he still wants to come to every tournament, which is great to have such a driven coach like that.”
Norrie, meanwhile, is getting ready to begin his pre-season training this weekend by hiking into the snowy French mountains and staying in a campervan.
The 28-year-old, who is an ambassador for Lexus and drives the RZ electric car, admits he will be well outside his comfort zone but is looking forward to the challenge.
“We’re going with my fitness trainer and we’re going up this mountain, sleep in his camper,” said Norrie, who is based in Monte-Carlo.
“One night, then the next day we have this big hike in the snow. He wants to test me a little bit. I’ve never really seen the mountains there.
“I love walking but I’ve not done a really long hike before. I bought some new shoes this week to get ready for that. We looked at the weather and it was minus 12 so I’ve got a big jacket as well. We’re bringing some food, some tea, play some cards. It should be good.
“I think it’s his idea to just change my mind, maybe leave the phone and just go and be in nature, see the mountains. He tells me it’s not the easiest hike. Hopefully no injuries. Then Monday he’s killing me in the gym.”
Norrie will kick-off the new season at the United Cup in Australia beginning on December 29.
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