Daniil Medvedev retires suddenly after halting match and calling supervisor to court

Daniil Medvedev ended his China Open semi-final with Learner Tien early, having rowed with the umpire and calling the match supervisor to the court. Medvedev took the first set 7-5 against his teenage American opponent, but came out for the second set carrying some sort of concern.

He was able to play on and took Tien the distance, going down 7-5 himself, but emerged for a deciding set ready to fight for a place in the final against Jannik Sinner. However, in the third set, the wheels began to fall off. The Russian star launched into a fiery rant with the umpire, called for the match supervisor to head to the court, and eventually retired prematurely.

Tien was ultimately awarded a walkover, having led 5-7 7-5 4-0, and became the second youngest player to reach the final after Rafael Nadal.

But for Medvedev, he could not hide his frustration at the match official. He was suffering from cramp and given a code violation early in the third set, having failed to try and return Tien's serve.

He stormed over to the umpire, calling for the match supervisor to head to the court, clearly unimpressed with the decision to punish Medvedev while visibly injured.

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In trying to explain his point of view to the supervisor, Medvedev was frustrated that the umpire also spoke, telling him not to interrupt.

He also fumed: "Why is every umpire in the world trying to intimidate me?"

Medvedev returned to the court, despite it being clear for all to see that he was struggling physically, and carried on for two more games.

With little time remaining in the match, Medvedev abruptly ended the semi-final by walking over to shake Tien's hand before gathering his equipment and leaving Diamond Court.

Frustration and pain for Medvedev meant joy and jubilation for Tien, as the 19-year-old advanced to his first-ever ATP Tour title.

"I was down 3-5 and 2-4 in the second and clawed my way back," Tien said. "I didn't think anything was wrong with him and then he came out of the bathroom break kind of limping, so I was not sure if he was cramping or if he was injured as he had tape on his leg.

"I think it was cramping and I have been there and it is not fun. All the best to him and it is not how you want to come through a match but I am happy to be in the final."