Daniil Medvedev wasn't impressed with a code violation received for a lengthy service routine and even name-dropped Rafael Nadal while unloading at chair umpire Mohammed Lahyani.
In the Shanghai Masters round-of-16, the Russian tennis star outlasted Learner Tien 7-6 (6) 6-7 (1) 6-4 after nearly three hours of play.
While it was positive for Medvedev that he ended on the winning side, his match didn't go without some drama. During the match, the former world No. 1 was handed a code violation for taking more time than he probably should have. And during a changeover, the Russian made sure to let chair umpire Lahyani hear it.
Medvedev: Nadal was doing it all the time and never received a code violation
"You don't care that all my life I've been serving and waiting for Rafa for 55 seconds. And you give me a code violation on the first occasion, huh? I played Rafa five times. There was not one time I was ready to serve and he was ready to return. He didn't get a time violation. Why do I get a time violation? To me, today, at the slightest thing you give it to me. I always waited to return, and you didn't give it to him. You're crazy. Completely crazy," the 29-year-old Russian ranted.
Spot on. Great to hear Medvedev calling out the doubles standard with Rafael Nadal 👏 Even other players notice the preferential treatment Nadal has received over the year pic.twitter.com/X1ocWKv951
— Nicolas Ally (@nick_ally1986) October 8, 2025
Medvedev may not have been happy with Lahyani, but he is certainly happy to have continued with his fine after reaching the Beijing semifinal last week.
In the Shanghai Masters quarterfinal, Medvedev will battle against Alex de Minaur. Going into the match, the Russian former world No. 1 leads their head-to-head 7-4, but de Minaur won their lone meeting of the 2025 season in Monte Carlo earlier this year.
