Wimbledon upstart Daniil Medvedev breaks down and throws money at umpire in bizarre protest

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The Wimbledon dream was short-lived for 21-year-old Daniil Medvedev, as the young Russian fell in five sets to Ruben Bemelmans just days after his shocking upset of No. 5 seed Stan Wawrinka.

But while it was his play and composure that stood out in his first round match on Centre Court against one of the world’s best, in the second round it was Medvedev’s emotional meltdown that caught the attention of spectators.

After losing to Ruben Bemelmans in five sets, both players went to shake hands with chair umpire Mariana Alves. Once Medvedev had gotten that courtesy out of the way, he opened his wallet and began tossing coins at the chair in a bizarre protest.

While taking questions from reporters after the match, Medvedev was quick to acknowledge his actions, saying, “In the heat of the moment I did a bad thing, and I apologize for this.”

When pressed, it became clear he didn’t want to linger on the subject, nor get into details of the ugly implication of his specific taunt. “I don’t know why I did it. In the heat of the moment I was frustrated,” said Medvedev. “Maybe there were some bad calls, it can happen in sports. I was just disappointed.”

Medvedev also assured reporters that he would personally apologize to the judge if he got the chance to. You can watch video of the interaction below.

This is not the first time his career that Medvedev has found himself embroiled in controversy after being aggressive toward an umpire. At last year’s Savannah Challenger tournament, he was disqualified from the competition after making a racist comment at an umpire who gave a call to his opponent.