Daniil Medvedev blasts Shanghai balls, makes shock claim when airing frustration

Daniil Medvedev felt the need to call the supervisor very early into his opening Shanghai Masters match as the former world No. 1 complained that the balls used at the tournament were “not good enough” to be used on the pro level and also claimed that they were getting absolutely “destroyed” after just a couple of games.

The Russian, seeded at No. 5, had a first-round bye before facing world No. 88 Thiago Seyboth Wild. While the Russian entered the match as the big favorite, he struggled early on and found himself 1-3 down in the first set. 

At one point, Medvedev wanted to have a chat with the supervisor and his request was granted. When the official made his way onto the court, the 28-year-old didn’t back down when airing his frustration with the balls. 

“These balls are not good enough for professional tennis. This is one of the biggest tournaments in the world and the balls are destroyed after 5 games. No pressure at all,” the Russian said.

Medvedev calls the Supervisor to complain about the balls.

“These balls are not good enough for professional tennis. This is one of the biggest tournaments in the world and the balls are destroyed after 5 games. No pressure at all”.

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 4, 2024

After finding himself down early, Medvedev managed to recover by claiming breaks in the fifth and 11th games to overturn the deficit and win the opener 7-5. In the second set, something similar happened as Seyboth Wild went 2-0 up. However, it didn’t take long before the 2019 Shanghai Masters winner bounced back as he broke the Brazilian in the third and 11th games to complete a two-set win and set up a third-round meeting against Matteo Arnaldi.

Do you remember that Medvedev compared Beijing’s balls to ‘grapefruit’?

This is not the first time that the 2021 US Open champion complained about the balls used during hard-court tournaments in China. Last year, he famously described the balls used at the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing as “grapefruit.” At the time, the Russian claimed that it was “impossible” to hit a winner with them.

“As soon as you play some shots with them, they go very big, much (fluffy)… it becomes like a grapefruit. We’re basically playing 30-shot rallies because it’s almost impossible to hit a winner. With these balls, you have to be 100% on every point, until the last point of the match. I managed to do it well so this, I’m happy about,” Medvedev said in Beijing last year. 

Also, it should be noted that the former world No. 1 has been regularly complaining about the balls used on hard courts for the past two years. After sustaining a mysterious wrist injury during the 2023 Australian Open, the Russian wondered what was to blame. But after speaking to some other players who also contracted mysterious injuries in the upper part of their bodies, the 28-year-old realized that it was all probably caused by the balls. 

“I can say this now that the tournament is over. I don’t think these balls are good for hard courts. They changed something this year. I heard players are struggling with shoulders, elbows, & wrists. I talked a little bit to the supervisor, but the thing is that I wonder what other players think,” Medvedev said after winning Rotterdam in 2023 February.

“You’re not going to be in the locker, you know, coming to every other player asking about the balls. I had wrist problems in Australia. So maybe if people going to start asking them, maybe finally I’m going to be the only one arguing about the balls, and then I’m just, that’s my problem. If there is going to be 15 players that come out and say, Yeah, I feel the same, then it’s a problem of the balls,” 

Medvedev reflects on his win against Seyboth Wild

Meanwhile, the No. 5 seed acknowledged that he didn’t have an easy job against Seyboth Wild and that he was pushed in both sets. However, he was happy that he was at least able to come up big when needed the most.

“It’s a tough match. He plays well, very well against me. I felt like I actually played a good match, just a couple of few loose errors, but it’s okay, it happens, and if not I stayed tough, that’s why I managed to win. Two times broke at 5-All, and the side helped a little bit with the wind. So, generally happy with my level and looking forward, and, yeah, he’s a tough opponent to play against,” Medvedev said.

When the current world No. 5 meets 36th-ranked Arnaldi next, they will be clashing against each other for the fourth time. Previously, the Russian beat the Italian twice on hard courts and also ended on the winning side when they met in Madrid this year.

Medvedev may not be very happy with the Shanghai balls but he still definitely enters the Arnaldi match as the favorite.