Daniil Medvedev taunts crowd in shocking tennis moment: 'Disgusting'
Daniil Medvedev has sparked a furious reaction after taunting the French crowd with what appeared to be a 'monkey' gesture during his loss to Stan Wawrinka at Metz.
The World No.3 couldn't complete a comeback and went down against three-time grand slam champ Wawrinka 6-4, 6-7, 6-4.
HUGE: Federer's Laver Cup moment sends tennis world into meltdown
MISSING: Tennis fans saddened by detail in Federer photo at Laver Cup
However, the match was marred after an ugly meltdown from the Russian.
At 0-2 down in the deciding set, Medvedev became irritated with the crowd.
Medvedev threw his racquet, which prompted some jeers from those in attendance.
The Russian then reacted with what appeared to be a 'monkey' gesture towards the crowd.
"He is simmering here," the commentator said.
"He is surely going to attract the warning of the umpire...oh he really has to be careful," the commentator added after the gesture.
The crowd became even more agitated after the gesture.
Medvedev went on to receive a warning from the umpire for the racquet abuse.
Tennis fans were quick to condemn Medvedev's reaction, which will most likely attract the attention of tennis officials.
Oh God... https://t.co/g3LIN6RdFU
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 22, 2022
A HUGE shock as WR 284 Stan Wawrinka has just taken out Medvedev in the first round of ATP 250 Metz.
Medvedev clearly not happy with the crowd that was mainly behind Stan but gesticulating that a Marseille crowd are monkeys is really not a good look. https://t.co/ZKPC3eiZbX— Pavvy G (@pavyg) September 22, 2022
Medvedev turning from villain to hero to villain - I am sure the rowdy French crowd would have had something to do with it!
— AK (@rwamit) September 22, 2022
I typically don't mind when Medvedev feeds on a crowd that's against him, but this is not acceptable.
— Virgile Maixandeau (@VMaixandeau) September 22, 2022
Medvedev is such a susceptible person when it comes to crowd/refs i have no idea how he made it that far https://t.co/LQobeYTLcQ
— KS (@karimsfeir13) September 22, 2022
disgusting behaviour
— RSP14 (@RSP142) September 22, 2022
This isn't the first time Medvedev has fired up a crowd.
At the US Open in 2019, Medvedev goaded the crowd when they booed him for his antics.
Earlier this year, Medvedev got offside with the Australian Open crowd.
The Russian hit out at the crowd after mistaking the 'siu' chants for boos, which was a similar mistake from a number of players.
Daniil Medvedev suffers frustrating 2022
Wawrinka was thrilled to grab his biggest scalp this year in a brilliant win in Metz.
“At the end of the tie-break I was a little bit frustrated because I started to hesitate a little bit on my shots," Wawrinka said after the match.
"He is one of the best defensive players, so when you don’t go completely through the ball without thinking too much and it is difficult.
"I made a few mistakes but I think in general it was a super good level from me. I am super happy with the win.”
After the controversy, Wawrinka praised Medvedev for his persona off the court.
“He is at the top of the rankings. One of the best players and nicest person outside of the court, so it is always great to play against each other," he added.
Wawrinka will now play Mikael Ymer in the next round.
Despite grabbing the World No.1 ranking twice in 2022, Medvedev has suffered a mixed year.
Medvedev lost in the Australian Open final, despite being two sets up against Rafa Nadal.
He wasn't able to play Wimbledon due to the All England Club's ban on Russian athletes.
And the Russian was most recently knocked out of the US Open in the Round of 16 against Nick Kyrgios.
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.