Daniil Medvedev Had Funny Conversation With Umpire About Madrid Open Roof

Daniil Medvedev with an amusing exchange during the Madrid Open.
Daniil Medvedev cracked the perfect joke during a conversation with a chair umpire about the Madrid Open roof.
Daniil Medvedev cracked the perfect joke during a conversation with a chair umpire about the Madrid Open roof. / Screengrab on Twitter @TheTennisLetter

When rain began to fall during Daniil Medvedev's third round match against Sebastian Korda in Arantxa Sanchez Stadium at the Madrid Open on Monday, the Russian walked up to chair umpire Nacho Forcadell and asked why the roof hadn't been utilized. After Forcadell told Medvedev that the roof would not be closed, the world No. 4, known on the ATP Tour for his rapier wit, made a funny comment.

Here is the amusing exchange between Medvedev and Forcadell in all its glory, courtesy of The Tennis Letter on X, formerly Twitter.

"I don’t make the decision. They do," said Forcadell.

“Who are ‘they?’ The Illuminati?" Medvedev cheekily replied.

Forcadell should have known better than to use the word "they" with Medvedev, who simply couldn't resist giving the chair umpire a hard time over the choice of words. Kudos to Medvedev for giving tennis fans the perfect image of the Illuminati having a Monday afternoon meeting in Spain to discuss the Madrid Open roof.

Medvedev, who was a game away from losing the match in the second set, went on to defeat Korda 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.


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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.