Former American ATP pro Tennys Sandgren sharply criticized world No. 11 Daniil Medvedev for the viral hindrance call that went against defending champion Jack Draper during their quarterfinal match at Indian Wells on Thursday.
The match was at a critical point when the chair umpire’s controversial call on Medvedev’s objection favored the Russian, shifting the momentum and allowing him to close out the match in the very next service game.
Expressing his frustration on social media, Sandgren strongly criticized the hindrance call and also criticized Medvedev for demanding a video review after losing the rally, rather than doing so immediately when he should have.
The issue arose when Draper appeared to subtly raise his arms during a rally in the second set, with the match tied at 5-5. The Russian continued the rally and only raised his arms in protest after hitting a backhand into the net, drawing widespread criticism on social media for what was seen as unsportsmanlike behavior on Thursday.
“For this call to make any sense, Medvedev needed to stop the point. Imagine challenging a call that happened 4 shots ago after you miss. Ridiculous,” Sandgren wrote on X.
After the match, Draper expressed his feelings on the controversial call to Medvedev during the customary handshake at the net. “You won the match fairly. However, I don’t think it distracted you,” Draper said.
Daniil Medvedev Explained His Feelings on the Hindrance Call at Indian Wells
During the post-game interview, the Russian was asked to comment on the controversial hindrance call and how things transpired on court. “Was I distracted big time? No. Do I feel good about it? Not really. But I also don’t feel like I cheated or something,” Medvedev said.
“So I got a bit distracted. I let it go, I let the referee decide. I had a lot of calls against me in my life, and I usually don’t handle them well. To get one on my side, I guess, feels good as well,” he added.
Furthermore, the former Nitto ATP Finals champion also asserted that he should have requested the video review earlier in the rally.
“Now I can actually even talk more, because I have more info. I think I should have done it the moment it happened, like, I should not have waited until the end of the point, and then it would be a bit more, probably available,” Medvedev said.
The Russian will now take on World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals at Indian Wells on Saturday.
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