Daniil Medvedev left the tennis fans in “disgust” after he made a bizarre request for a ball girl to remove his sweat-soaked shirt at the Shanghai Masters.
According to The Sun, the former world No. 1 on Wednesday, October 8, faced Learner Tien in the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters in the severe humid conditions.
The Russian tennis professional suffered from cramps during the match, and during the third set changeover, he also received a massage from his physio when he tried to remove his sweat-drenched shirt but could not do that because of pain.
The 29-year-old then turned to the umpire and asked, “Sorry, can I ask the ball girl to remove my shirt? I'm cramping here. I need to change my shirt."
To which the umpire replied, “If someone is happy to do it."
“I can try, but I am cramping,” said Medvedev.
Following this, ATP supervisor Gerry Armstrong came and took off his shirt and put it aside and wiped his hand with a towel.
The bizarre request sparked widespread criticism on social media and labelled him as a “freak.”
A user wrote, “Still weird he specifically asked for a ballgirl to take his shirt off." Another added, “What a freak lol.”
A fan noted, “The face of the guy after removing Med's shirt, throwing it away and cleaning his hands in the towel lmao.”
“Why ask the ball kid to remove his shirt… That's so, so disgusting,” commented a user.
Furthermore, Medvedev, who ultimately won the match 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, will now face Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals on Friday, October 10.
