Exhausted Daniil Medvedev tells umpire 'I can die' mid-match, enters Tokyo last-8 anyway

Second seed Daniil Medvedev battled the heat to overcome Italian Fabio Fognini in a hard-fought match on Wednesday at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as he moves onto the quarter-finals. Medvedev won 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in two hours and 26 minutes.

The 25-year-old, who is making his Olympic debut this week, saved seven of the eight break points he faced in the match, winning 70% of his first service points. Medvedev had to take two medical timeouts and a visit from the trainer owing to the intense heat and humidity during the match.

At one point, when the chair umpire inquired about his condition, Medvedev even replied 'I'm fine, I can finish the match but I can die. If I die will the ITF (International Tennis Federation) take responsibility?'

After the match, Medvedev said "Even from the first set I didn’t feel good enough with my breathing. That’s why I called the physio, I felt like my diaphragm was blocked," he said, adding that he felt that it was the most humid day so far in Tokyo.

"And then on the second set, I just had darkness in my eyes, like between every point, I didn’t know what to do to feel better. Like I was bending over and I couldn’t get my breath together so I was ready to just fall down on the court," he added.

Medvedev had previously beaten Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik 6-4,7-6 and India's Sumit Nagal 6-2, 6-1 both in straight sets.

He will now come up aginist Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta after the sixth seed defeated Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 7-6(7), 6-3.

Action in the men's tennis event

Elsewhere in the men's singles event, Novak Djokovic beat Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-1 as the Serbian continues his hunt for the historic Golden Grand Slam. He is also aiming to become the first male player to win all four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal in a season, something only WTA legend Stefanie Graf has managed to achieve back in 1988.

Djokovic will meet Japan's Kei Nishikori in the last eight after he defeated Belarus' Ilya Ivashka 7-6(9), 6-0.

Greek star and third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Frenchman Ugo Humbert as he battled from a set down to win 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Humbert will now take on ROC's Karen Khachanov after the 25-year-old beat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 2-6, 6-1.

Also in action was German Alexander Zverev as he eased past Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 7-6(5) in one hour and 39 minutes. Zverev will now face Jeremy Chardy after the Frenchman beat Great Britain's Liam Broady 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1.

(Image Credits: @DaniilMedwed - Twitter)