Daniil Medvedev match halted in worrying scenes as ball kid leaves court on stretcher
Daniil Medvedev’s quarter-final match in Vienna was halted early on when a ball kid collapsed at the back of the court and left in a stretcher. The No. 3 seed was facing Adrian Mannarino and had broken immediately in a lengthy game. Mannarino was serving to get on the board at 0-2 (40-30) when the umpire suddenly called a let, noticing the ball kid go down at the back of the court behind Medvedev. “Wait, stop,” Manuel Messina told the players.
“Oh no. What’s happened at the back here?” commentator Peter Marcarto said, before realising. “A ball kid has fallen. Unfortunate in terms of timing there, but great vision from the umpire there to spot that immediately. Both [him and Mannarino] were right onto that. When matters like this happen, the focus is not on the tennis.
Two other ball kids rushed over, as did Medvedev and the umpire. A court official also came over, and a bottle of water was quickly brought over.
Marcarto added: “A good part about these events on the ATP Tour is that in terms of medical care, they’re the very best here. And they’re straight out and ready to go. Not only for the spectators, but also for ball kids or anyone else who needs assistance.
Medvedev and Mannarino headed back to their benches as the medics came over to the ball kid and helped them up, getting them to lay on the stretcher. There was applause around the arena as they came to their feet.
Messina stayed by the ball kid’s side and helped them onto the stretcher before heading back to his chair. “It sames as if he fainted. Not nice to see at all,” co-commentator Lucie Ahl said.
Play resumed about five minutes later, and the game point on Mannarino’s serve had to be replayed. The umpire thanked the crowd and players, and confirmed the score was still 40-30 in the third game.
After the delay, the Frenchman missed his first serve, but he managed to get on the board to stay hot on Medvedev’s heels at 1-2. There was a lot on the line, as a win for the Russian would allow him to qualify for the ATP Finals.
It would be the seventh time in eight years that Medvedev makes it to the season-ending championships. The world No. 5 missed the event last year as he failed to rack up enough ranking points in the year to qualify.
Medvedev had come back from the brink in his previous match in Vienna, saving a match point to beat Britain’s Cameron Norrie on Thursday. The third seed grew frustrated during the match, slapping and hitting the court, but came through in a final-set tiebreak.
Mannarino, meanwhile, came through qualifying to reach the main draw here and then recovered after getting bagelled by Ignacia Buse in round one, winning 0-6 7-5 6-4. In round two, he stunned No. 8 seed Jakub Mensik.
