Daniil Medvedev’s coach storms out mid-match after Russian yells at him during final loss

Daniil Medvedev’s coach Gilles Cervara stormed out of the stadium during the Halle Open final after being yelled at by the Russian, who went on to lose 6-1, 6-4. Medvedev lost his second final within a week but even worse, had a run-in with his coach midway through the match, and he apologised to his wife post-match after she sat behind Cervara and witnessed her husband’s anger.

Cameras caught Cervara picking up his bag and walking out of the stadium after Medvedev had screamed in his direction in the first game of the second set. Hurkacz had just broken his opponent’s serve to go 6-1, 1-0. “Gilles Cervara has seen enough. I’m not sure if there’s been something said there or whether it was just the nature of that point but he is leaving the OWL arena. I can’t quite believe what I’ve seen there,” the Amazon Prime match commentator said.

Replays then showed Medvedev screaming at Cervara, who instantly got out of his seat and walked out. “This is really unsavoury for the world No 1 and his team,” the commentator added. “It’s not the first time in Medvedev’s career his coach Cervara has left the player box. You never want to see it. At times it can actually remove the distraction if you want to call it that.

“Medvedev has been so focused on battling Cervara. This is uncomfortable viewing for his wife Daria.” Medvedev apologised to his wife post-match and said: “Congrats Huber, great match today, great week. Congrats a lot to you and to your team, you guys are super nice. Hopefully a lot more matches to play on the biggest stage! Congrats for a great week and the title.

“Daria, thanks a lot for this week. Not easy to be with me on the court sometimes but hopefully next time will be easier and much better. Also thank you guys [the crowd] very much, sorry for not making this match longer and more interesting!

“This is special because I played here last year with no fans, it was my first year here and I lost in the first round so I was like, ‘Is this tournament good for me or not? I’m not sure.’ This year was much better in terms of everything and I’m really happy to be here. Hopefully see you next year and one day I can touch this big trophy Hubert will take right now.”

Hurkacz meanwhile reacted: “Definitely Daniil is an unbelievable player, he’s the best player in the world. It’s very tricky to play with him and all the right shots went my way in the beginning. Definitely I gained a little bit of momentum from that.

“I’m super excited, I’ve been waiting for a little bit for the first win this year, I’m happy to win my first 500 title and on the grass it’s very special. Definitely it gives me a lot of confidence for Wimbledon – I’m super excited for it.”

Medvedev’s defeat to Hurkacz comes just a week after he was thrashed in the final at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships. Tim van Rijthoven had never won an ATP Tour match before the tournament but in his first final thrashed Medvedev 6-1, 6-1 in the Netherlands.

Medvedev joked after that loss: “First of all, congrats Tim. Amazing week, first time in an ATP tournament and straight away you destroy the No 2 in the world in straight sets in the final!”