Daniil Medvedev lost to arch-rival Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open quarter-finals
(Picture: Getty Images)Daniil Medvedev has accused French Open bosses of putting Amazon money before spectators by scheduling his quarter-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas as the late match on Tuesday.
Amazon has exclusive rights for the new-for-2021 night sessions but fans are banned from Roland Garros night contests under the current Covid-19 curfew in Paris, meaning the match was played in front of empty stands.
And following his straight-sets defeat to Tsitsipas, Medvedev said the decision was entirely money-driven.
“Our match was definitely the match of the day so Roland Garros preferred Amazon to people,” said the No2 seed. “It’s as easy as that.”
He also compared the situation to that of Lewis Hamilton on the eve of the Australian Open last season when a Covid outbreak emerged in the Formula 1 paddock.
“They asked Lewis Hamilton what he thinks about racing in the conditions the world was in right now,” said Medvedev, “and he said, ‘I don’t know what we are doing here’. And so they asked him, ‘why do you think they make you race?’ And he said, ‘cash is king’. It was the same here.”
Tsitsipas’ victory set up a semi-final against Alexander Zverev, a fourth last-four Grand Slam appearance for the Greek, who has yet to reach the final.
Of his semi-final appearances to date – most recently at the Australian Open – he said: “I feel privileged that I’m in that position and I feel, obviously, I’ve put in a lot of daily hard work. But you know, my ego tells me I want more.”
