Meanwhile, Medvedev himself has been a polemic figure for some of his statements and interviews during these Olympic Games.
After requiring two medical time-outs during the win over Fognini with 79 percent humidity accompanied the searing heat at the Ariake Tennis Park.
The Russian claimed he could have died in the conditions, saying: “I can finish the match, but I can die. If I die, who will take responsibility?”
Medvedev went on to become engaged in a squabble with a journalist who had suggested that the Russian Olympic Committee team “are carrying a stigma of cheaters.”
