MONTE CARLO MASTERS

Medvedev destroys racquet in 6-0 6-0 loss

Zverev battles through

FE Team | Published: April 08, 2026 23:56:49

MONACO, Apr 08 (Agencies): Former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev lost his temper, smashed his racket on the red clay court seven successive times, and then deposited the mangled frame in a trash bin midway through a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.
Medvedev, who is currently ranked 10th, received a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct and will also likely be hit with a hefty fine for his actions early in the second set.
Medvedev was already struggling when he landed a forehand in the net to drop his opening service game of the second set and fall behind 2-0 and he slammed his racket near the baseline. Then he picked the racket up and threw it toward a tarp at the end of the court.
Still not through, Medvedev then continually picked his frame up and kept on smashing it until it was destroyed enough to fit through an opening in a courtside trash can as the crowd sarcastically cheered him on.
Medvedev, who won the US Open in 2021, lost the match in 49 minutes. He had five double-faults to Berrettini's none; put only 36 per cent of his first serves in play to Berrettini's 65%; and won only 17 of the 67 points.
It was quite a turnaround from the previous three meetings between the players - which were all won by Medvedev.
According to statistics provider Opta, Berrettini became only the fifth player since the ATP Rankings started in 1973 to defeat a top-10 opponent 6-0, 6-0 - a score otherwise known as a double bagel - with the last time it happened being a decade ago when David Goffin routed Tomas Berdych at the Italian Open.
"I wouldn't expect to win like that and it doesn't happen that often," Berrettini said.
Meanwhile, world number three Zverev, who is hoping to complete the set of all three clay-court Masters 1000 titles this week, staged a late comeback to edge out Chilean qualifier Garin 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Zverev has reached the semi-finals at each of the Australian Open, Indian Wells and the Miami Open this year but was in danger of a shock exit after losing the first set and then trailing 4-0 in the third. Garin also served for the match when 5-3 ahead in the deciding set, but Zverev broke and then sealed victory by reeling off five consecutive games.
He had to stave off three break points in a nervy 12th game to avoid a tie-break, but eventually got the job done on his third match point.