After being lashed out at by Daniil Medvedev, tennis coach Gilles Cervara was seen storming out of the Halle final on Sunday as Medvedev melted down against Hubert Hurkacz. Medvedev, the world’s top-ranked player, was handed a stunning defeat as Hurkacz won his first ever grass-court title.
After going down a set against Hurkacz, Medvedev was spotted yelling at Cervara, who responded to the Russian superstar’s outburst by getting out of his seat and leaving the court.
Medvedev appeared visibly frustrated and angry throughout the final, which he ultimately lost 6-1, 6-4. Although the Russian was cordial and congratulatory towards Hurkacz at the presentation ceremony, Sunday’s incident was the latest illustration of the short fuse that Medvedev has been known to show. Earlier this year at the Australian Open, Medvedev ripped fans for being “low IQ” after some did impersonations of the soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo during a match against Nick Kyrgios.
Hurkacz’s victory sets him up well for Wimbledon, as his run through Halle also included victories against Kyrgios, Ugo Humbert and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Hurkacz was a semifinalist at Wimbledon a year ago, but he won’t get to challenge Medvedev again there — the Russian will not play at Wimbledon due to a sweeping ban on Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament.
