Daniil Medvedev's wife goes viral after 'insane' moment stuns tennis

Daniil Medvedev's wife stole the show during his win over Ilya Ivashka at the Halle Open on Thursday.

The World No.1 beat Ivashka for the second time in a week, defeating the Belarusian 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at the German grass-court event.

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Medvedev, who also eliminated Ivashka in the Netherlands last week before returning to the World No.1 ranking on Monday, saved three set points when trailing 5-4 in the first set.

In the second set it was Ivashka's turn to save match points and he did so in extraordinary scenes.

Serving at 2-5, 30-40, Ivashka produced an outrageous winner on a point that he had no right to win, stunning Medvedev and keeping the match alive.

"Would you believe it? What a shot to stay alive," one TV commentator said.

"That is the shot of the match by Ivashka. He is ganging on by a thread."

The Tennis TV Twitter account described Ivashka's shot as 'insane', while Medvedev's wife Daria was also left stunned as she watched on from the stands.

Daria simply raised her eyebrows in astonishment in a funny reaction that has gone viral amongst tennis fans.

Medvedev is enjoying his second stint as World No.1 after briefly holding the top spot in February.

Novak Djokovic has dropped down to No.3 in the rankings after his quarter-final loss to Rafa Nadal at the French Open, while Alexander Zverev is the new World No.2.

It marks the first time since 2003 that none of Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer or Andy Murray are in the top two spots in the rankings.

Medvedev acknowledged that his return to the top of the rankings may have added to his opponents' motivation in Halle.

"Some are going to be a little bit intimidated that they are playing the World No.1 and they have a tough draw," said the Russian.

"If they lose, maybe it is nothing special, and some, on the contrary.

"Maybe they don't have the best confidence at the moment and if they beat the World No.1, that is where it starts."

Daniil Medvedev banned from Wimbledon

Despite his top status in the rankings, Medvedev won't be playing at Wimbledon because of the All England Club's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players in response to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

It means Djokovic will still be the top seed at Wimbledon because Zverev will also miss the grass-court major after undergoing surgery on his ankle.

Zverev twisted his ankle in horrible scenes during his semi-final clash with Nadal at Roland Garros.

Medvedev next faces seventh-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut in Halle after the Spaniard beat qualifier Tallon Griekspoor 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-2.

No.8-seeded Karen Khachanov and Oscar Otte of Germany also advanced on Thursday.

Khachanov beat Laslo Djere 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, while Otte rallied for a 4-6 6-0 7-6 (7-3) victory against Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Nick Kyrgios will continue his bid to win the title from the other side of the draw in Friday's quarter-finals, when he takes on Spanish sixth seed Pablo Carreno Busta.

Kyrgios overcame another mid-match meltdown on Wednesday to stun World No.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas 5-7 6-2 6-4.

The Aussie star staged a sit-down protest after being hit with a time violation, before eventually being persuaded to continue the match by the tournament supervisor.

with AAP

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