TENNIS fans have been left fuming after an unusual incident during Daniil Medvedev's win over Alex de Minaur at the US Open.
The World No.3 has battled back from a set down to book his place in a quarter-final with fellow countryman Andrey Rublev.
Medvedev, 27, made a slow start to his last-16 showdown with de Minaur at Flushing Meadows on Monday.
The Australian outsider tore the Russian's defense to pieces on his way to a 6-2 opening set win, with Medvedev hitting a number of unforced errors.
But fans were left flabbergasted as the 2021 champion packed up his bag and marched from the court at the end of the set.
He had been visited by his trainer during the opening exchanges and was seen using an inhaler.
Medvedev was absent for around 20 minutes, before returning in a full change of clothes and resumed the match.
The Russian promptly found his mojo, powering his way to a four-set victory.
He appeared to be struggling for breath in the hot New York conditions, with his decision to leave the court completely within the rules.
Per The Daily Mail, Channel 9 announcer, Todd Woodbridge, called on tennis bosses to "do something."
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He said: "This is a strange situation in the match.
"A 31-minute set, Medvedev leaves the court, took his whole bag. Why do you need to leave the court for that long?
"It's not a toilet break, is he changing full kit? Shouldn't that be at a certain time?
"I think our sport really has to do something about these changeovers. It's just such a crutch that everyone seems to go to when they're down, and it's just not part of the game.
"It shouldn't be there, I implore our rules officials to get in and stop all this stuff going on, because it's just momentum changes in matches that we shouldn't have."
Fans were divided as they took to X, formerly known as Twitter, with some accusing Medvedev of poor gamesmanship.
One wrote: "Match fix. Medvedev decided to show up finally."
While another said: "Medvedev for the love of god, if the game is fix please at least try not to make it that obvious."
And a third added: "He should have been forced to retire from the match. Easy to cheat."
But another countered: "Medvedev is allowed to do that."
Medvedev admitted after the match that he had struggled with the conditions as temperatures soared past 90 degrees.
He said: "Brutal match. Brutal match. Brutal conditions. So tough, so humid today.
“When I practiced before the match, like usually four hours before the match, straight away I was like, oh, my God, it’s going to be tough.
"Some people bear better with the heat, some people worse. I feel like I’m not the best one in this case.
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"And at the same time, I feel like I fight many times through it quite well.
“I managed to raise my level. It was amazing. So I'm really happy and hope I can play the same way going forward.”
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