“Ridiculous” – Coco Gauff’s ex-coach sends strongly-worded message to criticize Daniil Medvedev’s Citi DC Open medical timeout controversy

July 27, 2025

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Coco Gauff’s ex-coach, Brad Gilbert, discussed Daniil Medvedev’s mid-game medical timeout and criticised the rule makers for lacking the ability to make fair decisions. Medvedev lost to French lucky loser Corentin Moutet in the quarterfinals of the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

Daniil Medvedev, who hasn’t won an ATP title since Rome in 2023, was dominant in the opening set and picked up the lead. However, he trailed the Frenchman in the second, while battling the gruelling Washington heat. Drama unfolded as lightning struck the local area, prompting the game to pause after two hours and 15 minutes. Moutet was already leading when he took advantage of the Russian’s double faults in the final service to seal the win.

Despite Medvedev's loss, Andre Agassi's ex-coach Brad Gilbert discussed that Medvedev's medical timeout at 2-4, 15/15 in the second set due to heat stress, shouldn't have been allowed and criticised the rule makers for the same.

"just my 2 cents you should never be allowed to get injury TO in middle of game, especially on opponents serve,instantly you should have to forfeit the game."

Former No. 25 Vince Van Patten echoed the sentiments, adding:

"So true so basic why are the people that make the rules so far behind great points PG!!"

Gilbert further added that experienced people like him should have been added to the committee.

"ridiculous they probably don’t gave players like us on the committee to make fair decisions."

While Daniil Medvedev failed to reach his 60th tour-level semifinal, Moutet went against Alex de Minaur in the semifinals of the Washington campaign, but lost to the latter in straight sets.

Coco Gauff's ex-coach shared his views about Daniil Medvedev's Citi Open outburst after losing in the quarterfinals

Medvedev at the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 - Day 5 - (Source: Getty)

Daniil Medvedev hasn't had much luck in 2025, and that repeated in the Citi Open as well. With wins over Reilly Opelka and Wu Yibing, he reached the quarterfinals but failed to go further. Following the heartbreak, he vented his frustrations by wildly launching his racket and smashing his water bottle on the court.

The act garnered a reaction from Coco Gauff's ex-coach, Daniil Medvedev, who stated that the destruction would cost the Russian a significant amount.

"Holy toledo what a last game drama 🎭 after rain ☔️ delay Moutet cramping and what a unbelievable MP to win it, that will definitely 💯 cost Meddy bear 🐻 a lot of cash."

Medvedev won the 2021 US Open and had three final and two semifinal appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, respectively.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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