Well, this is the point though, it wasn’t nearly over cos Medvedev won that set and then the next one 6-0. He almost stole the match, until the French bloke forgot he was French. I think the guy is mentally broke and he prolly needs a good old fashioned kick up the arse to remind him of his how good he was, and how his victim mentality is ruining him. His post match interview was almost as embarrassing. I see that Rublev offered to help him, “I don’t know, if he wants to change and he needs help, he has me.”
I don’t know WTF that means other than that Medvedev is brutally in trouble.
I think the rule that might have applied to him is the hindrance rule, given that he was inciting the trolls to keep misbehaving.
Sorry I'm late replying to all of this, but I do have to say I went to bed after the kerfuffle, thinking Bonzi would win. I woke up to the news about the near-riot, perpetrated by Medvedev, and didn't bother to realize he'd managed to win that set, and the next one, and get it to a 5th. Thank goodness Bonzi won it, in the end, because it would have been criminal if Medvedev had won the match after such behavior. I do think he could have been defaulted on the spot, per the rules.
And, yes, it's not good news if Rublev is offering to help you with your mental health issues, though, he's actually trying. But he's the guy who has employed Safin. I love Safin, but that's a pack of crazy Russians, right there.
I am always for rules that are as objective as possible. I do not know the rule book well enough to know if there is something already there that could have applied.
However, at the same time when the umpire was asking the crowd to be quiet, he was inciting them up. If there is no rule against that, he is then in the clear (as childish and gamesman that behavior was). But, if there is no rule against that, then one should definitely be created. They could even call it the Medvedev rule. He should have been disqualified on the spot.
By the way, wasn't aware of that Nastase McEnroe match. Whoever got the umpire substituted should be shot. The guy deserved a medal. He if he was in the chair against Medvedev, the outcome would be different.
Turns out, even Medvedev is expecting a hefty fine. He's been there before. He can be fined $100K for unsportsmanlike conduct, which includes how he treated the umpire, and how he whipped up the crowd. He could be fined 2x for both, IMO. And $50K for equipment abuse, which would be the racquet, I guess. That is according to the rules, so they don't need to be changed. The only thing I would say is, as I said above, I do think he could have been defaulted.
I was also unaware of the McEnroe/Nastase incident. They replaced the chair umpire, (and ruined his very good reputation, apparently,) rather than defaulting Nastase. It tells you everything you need to know about that incident that McEnroe kept his cool and let Nastase self-implode.
