Daniil Medvedev claims he has ‘no desire’ to play the ATP Finals after losing at the Paris Masters

Daniil Medvedev has enjoyed a stellar run of form of late, but that came to a rather crashing close just yesterday at the Paris Masters.

His straightforward opening-round defeat to Ignacio Buse represented the first tournament in his last five where he did not reach at least the semi-final, having won two titles during this period.

It felt inevitable that his incredible run would come to an end, but his reaction feels questionable.

No professional wants to lose, and some players definitely take it harder than others.

However, in his post-match conversation with BB Tennis, Daniil Medvedev actually suggested that he is struggling to find the motivation to finish the season off, despite having just one tournament left to compete in: the highly prestigious ATP Finals.

Daniil Medvedev makes bold claim after shock loss at the Paris Masters

Medvedev has pushed hard over the last two months to ensure his qualification for this event, so it seems strange that he suddenly seems disinterested in attending.

After all, with his form, there’s no reason why he can’t feel confident of winning the whole thing, with some huge sums of money on offer for an undefeated title, or even just a run to the final.

In his post-match interview, the Russian began with a scathing assessment of the conditions in Paris.

He admitted: “Personally, I was having a blast at the NTC yesterday. 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, asked about the conclusion of his season at the ATP Finals, Medvedev rather shockingly added: “To be honest, I don’t really have the desire to play anymore this season, but I’ll have to.”

Given how desperately Novak Djokovic has been trying to qualify for the ATP Finals, it’s ironic that a player who qualified so easily seems so dismissive of the event.

Daniil Medvedev’s on-court argument during Paris Masters loss

Despite losing to Buse with little fuss, the 30-year-old was never going to exit the tournament without creating at least a little bit of drama.

After all, despite his fine recent form, Medvedev has recently been disqualified from one match and threatened to retire from his Shanghai Masters semi-final as well.

His latest outburst mimicked the latter more closely, as he argued the decision to give him a warning after an incident on court.

During a changeover, he was closely monitored as he argued with umpire Adel Nour and supervisor Cédric Mourier.

Medvedev again threatened to retire, stating: “If I retire, what do I get? My legs hurt really badly. I’m in a lot of pain, I can’t play. Do we call the physio? Physio!”

Asked if he planned to continue, he then added: “No! That’s a racket scrape, and I get an unsportsmanlike warning for nothing? I don’t feel like playing; I’m calling the physio.

“I just tore something in my leg. If the physio decides there’s nothing wrong, I’ll play. But I tore my adductor, and I’ve been playing for seven weeks.”

He finished by adding, regarding the accusation that he had hit the court five times and left marks: “I can’t hit the ground? Every time it’s something new? How many times? Five times? What happens if it’s not five? Do you apologise after the match?”