Daniil Medvedev is slammed for dodgy act that proved a crucial turning point in clash with Aussie underdog Alex de Minaur for a place in the US Open quarter finals

Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev has been charged with an act of underhand play against Aussie Alex de Minaur after walking off court for nearly 30 minutes while losing heavily.

Thirteenth-seeded de Minaur shocked the world number three in their round of 16 at the US Open by winning the first set 6–2.

This prompted Medvedev to collect his entire bag and leave the court for a longer period of time, after which he returned fully clothed.

After struggling in the first set, the energetic Russian found his mojo during the extended break and went through the next three sets to turn the match upside down, eventually winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6 – won. 2.

The dodgy act caused many fans to question Medvedev’s tactics.

“He should have retired from the game. Easy to cheat,” said one.

“Matchfix Medvedev finally decided to show up,” wrote another.

“That’s the Medvedev we know,” another fan replied.

De Minaur fell into a black hole after the break and was crushed by Medvedev in the next two sets

Australian doubles champion Todd Woodbridge was also scathing in his comments.

“This is a strange situation in the match,” Woodbridge said on Channel 9.

“A set of 31 minutes, Medvedev leaves the field and takes his whole bag… why do you have to leave the field for so long?

‘It’s not a toilet break, is he changing his entire kit? Shouldn’t that be done at some point? I’m telling you, I think our sport really needs to do something about these changes.

“It’s just one of those crutches that everyone seems to turn to when they’re down, and it’s just not part of the game.”

“It shouldn’t be there, I’m begging our rules officials to step in and stop all this stuff because it’s just momentum changes in games that we shouldn’t have.

De Minaur struggled to keep pace with the world No. 3 after the break between sets, which saw Medvedev also use an inhaler

The Russian claimed he was having trouble breathing and used an inhaler after dropping the first set at the Australian star

Medvedev had also complained of difficulty breathing in the hot conditions at Louis Armstrong Stadium and was cleared by the chair umpire to use an inhaler.

The incident came after Medvedev’s tough second-round match against compatriot Chris O’Connell, who also used an inhaler after claiming to have breathing problems.

O’Connell launched a spirited fight back in the third set, claiming it in a tiebreak after using the inhaler.

After losing the set, Medvedev asked the doctor, “Can I have what he had?”

the doctor replied, “Do you have those symptoms?”

Medvedev replied, “Well, I lost the set. I had problems too, I want the same.’

Some tennis fans said Medvedev clearly learned from that experience, giving him access to an inhaler for future matches.

“The last person to play Medvedev was having trouble breathing. They gave him an inhaler. His tennis really took off, Medvedev asked if he could have the inhaler and was told no. Tonight he made sure he got the inhaler, he’s a con artist,” one fan wrote.

However, others said it was just sour grapes from the Australians and Medvedev was playing within the rules.

“It’s in the rules and there’s only one rule – RULES IS RULES – many at the top have done it before,” someone posted.

Medvedev will face Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals.

“That was really impressive, that was a big turnaround after dropping the first set,” said Woodbridge.

Another great tournament for Alex, but he will be disappointed with the result after how he started. Unfortunately he was eventually outplayed.’