Daniil Medvedev endured a dramatic night at the Cincinnati Open, missing three match points before losing 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-1 to Brandon Nakashima.The Russian also damaged advertising boards, knocked over microphones and argued with the umpire during a frustrating third-round defeat.
Missed chances spark meltdown
Medvedev had to fight hard to win the first set after Nakashima led 5-2 and had chances to close it out. He recovered and took the tiebreak, but the second set slipped away despite Medvedev having three match points.Nakashima saved all three chances and levelled the match at 5-5. Frustrated, Medvedev threw his racket into an advertising board, damaging it.Later in the tiebreak, he kicked another board twice after falling 4-2 behind. Umpire Mohamed Lahyani responded with a code violation.
Frustration boils over
The situation became worse in the deciding set as Nakashima quickly moved into a 3-1 lead and then extended it to 5-1. Medvedev’s frustration boiled over again as he kicked a microphone before knocking it down.After it was replaced, he knocked it over once more and then dragged another microphone to the ground with his hands.Medvedev eventually lost the match and exited Cincinnati in the third round. The result continues a difficult run at the tournament, where he has failed to reach the fourth round in his last four appearances.Nakashima, who recently reached the Canadian Open final, advances to face Nuno Borges as he targets another Masters 1000 quarter-final.
