Russian Player Loses at Wimbledon, Starts Throwing Money at Umpire

On Monday, unseeded Russian Daniil Medvedev upset the reigning U.S. Open champ, Stan Wawrinka, in the opening round of Wimbledon. On Wednesday, he blew a 2-0 lead in the final set and lost to the Belgian Ruben Bemelmans. Then he started throwing money at the foot of the umpire's chair.

Medvedev watched as his 2-0 lead in the fifth set turned into a 5-2 deficit and he grew increasingly frustrated with umpire Mariana Alves's calls. He eventually asked for the supervisor to remove her, but the supervisor declined to do so. After the match, and after shaking Alves's hand, Medvedev took out his wallet and started throwing coins at the chair.

The incident would seem to imply that Medvedev felt the fix was in against him, but when reporters asked him if he was trying to say the umpire was bribed, he denied it.

This is not the first time Medvedev has had a run-in with an umpire he felt was biased against him. Last August, he was disqualified from a tournament in Savannah, Georgia, after going on a rant accusing the umpire for favoring his opponent because they were both black.

Medvedev thought he hit a winner against Donald Young in the first set and went to his seat for what he assumed was a break. The umpire, Sandy French, eventually ruled that it was out, and when she told him to resume playing, the two exchanged words. At a certain point Medvedev said of Young and French, who are both African-Americans, "I know that you are friends, I am sure about it."

After a lengthy discussion with the tournament director, Medvedev was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. Later, the USTA announced that he was defaulted for "aggravated unsportsmanlike conduct when he questioned the impartiality of the chair umpire, because of her race."