Medvedev explodes at umpire over “warning” in Paris meltdown.

Ignacio Buse vs Daniil Medvedev · Round 2 · ATP Paris.

Daniil Medvedev lost his opening match at the Paris Masters on Wednesday, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Peruvian qualifier Ignacio Buse.

But the scoreline was not the main story.

During a changeover in the second set, Medvedev erupted at chair umpire Adel Nour and tournament supervisor Cédric Mourier after receiving a warning for scraping his racket on the court surface.

The incident began when Medvedev dragged his racket along the ground in frustration.

The umpire counted five such gestures and two visible marks left on the court.

Under ATP rules, that constitutes a racket abuse violation, which carries a warning on the first offense.

Medvedev did not accept the call.

"Why are they giving me warning?" he asked, according to the broadcast feed.

He then turned to supervisor Mourier and escalated the conversation.

"If I retire, what do I get?"

Medvedev said, according to Tennisuptodate.com.

"My legs hurt really badly. I'm in a lot of pain, I can't play. Do we call the physio? Physio!"

Mourier asked whether Medvedev intended to continue the match.

Medvedev pointed back at the warning.

"No! That's a racket scrape and I get an unsportsmanlike warning for nothing?" he said.

"I don't feel like playing, I'm calling the physio."

He then claimed he had suffered a physical injury.

"I just tore something in my leg," Medvedev said in perfect French.

"If the physio decides there's nothing wrong, I'll play. But I tore my adductor, and I've been playing for seven weeks."

The ATP trainer was called to the court.

Medvedev then turned his attention back to the warning itself, addressing umpire Nour directly.

"I can't hit the ground?" he asked.

"Every time it's something new? How many times? Five times? What happens if it's not five? Do you apologize after the match?"

The umpire had counted five separate racket scrapes.

Medvedev challenged the count and the standard of proof.

He implied that if the umpire was wrong about the number, the penalty should be reversed and an apology issued.

No apology was given.

The warning stood.

Medvedev returned to play and lost the match in straight sets.

Buse, ranked No. 417 in doubles and No. 33 in singles, earned the biggest win of his career.

The 22-year-old Peruvian broke Medvedev once in each set and saved 5 of 6 break points against him.

Medvedev finished with 7 aces and 3 double faults.

His first-serve percentage was 66 percent, and he won 72 percent of points behind that serve.

But he converted only 1 of 6 break opportunities.

Buse served at 63 percent and won 74 percent of first-serve points.

He faced only 5 break points all match and saved 4 of them.

The match lasted 1 hour and 36 minutes.

Medvedev has now lost in the second round in four of the last five editions of the Paris Masters.

He reached the final here in 2020 but has not replicated that result since.

The tournament has been a difficult venue for him throughout his career.

Wednesday's loss ended a remarkable run of form.

In his previous four tournaments, Medvedev had reached at least the semifinal each time and won two titles.

He won the Vienna Open in October and another event earlier in the fall.

But the Paris Masters has consistently been a stumbling block.

After the match, Medvedev spoke to BB Tennis about his state of mind.

He criticized the court conditions at the Paris Masters.

"Personally, I was having a blast at the NTC yesterday," Medvedev said, referring to the nearby training facility.

"The courts there… even though people say they're fast, they actually felt slow to me."

"I just arrived here today, and it's ten times faster, which, again, raises some questions."

"Why is the court over there so much slower? It was really tough to get into a rhythm and play well."

Then he was asked about the ATP Finals, the season-ending championship that begins later this month in Turin.

Medvedev has already qualified for the eight-man event.

His recent results secured his spot before the Paris Masters even began.

But he did not sound like a player eager to compete.

"To be honest, I don't really have the desire to play anymore this season, but I'll have to," Medvedev said.

The comment drew immediate attention.

Novak Djokovic, by contrast, has been fighting hard to qualify for the ATP Finals and is not yet guaranteed a spot.

Medvedev qualified with ease, yet appeared dismissive of the event.

This is not the first time Medvedev has had an emotional outburst this season.

He was disqualified from a match earlier in the year for an incident involving a line judge.

He also threatened to retire during his Shanghai Masters semifinal.

Wednesday's exchange followed a similar pattern: frustration with a call, a threat to stop playing, and a prolonged argument with officials.

The Paris Masters is an ATP Masters 1000 event, one of the highest tiers on the men's tour.

It is held annually at the Accor Arena in Bercy, Paris.

The surface is indoor hard court.

Players have frequently complained about the speed of the courts at this tournament.

Some say the surface plays faster than any other indoor event on the calendar.

Medvedev's criticism of the court speed echoed those complaints.

Ignacio Buse, meanwhile, moves on to the third round.

He will face a higher-ranked opponent in the next match.

The win lifted his ranking and gave him the biggest scalp of his young career.

For Medvedev, the loss raises questions about his physical and mental readiness for the ATP Finals.