Daniil Medvedev smashed his tennis racket to smithereens in a lowlight-reel moment of Olympic rage

• Daniil Medvedev just smashed his racket to smithereens.
• The Russian tennis player reacted wildly to his straight-sets loss Thursday to Pablo Carreno.
• It is not the first time this week his behavior has been questioned.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Daniil Medvedev smashed his tennis racket to smithereens in a lowlight-reel moment of Olympic rage Thursday, after losing match point to Spain's Pablo Carreno.

It all went down at the Ariake Tennis Park inside the Tokyo Stadium, with the Russian athlete reacting wildly to his straight-sets loss and subsequent exit from the 2020 Games.

Medvedev, who protested playing conditions yesterday by asking a chair umpire who'd be responsible if he died on court, was beaten 6-2, 7-6.

Medvedev's reaction to defeat mars Carreno's victory. And even though it all happened off-camera on the live broadcast, still photos show the 25-year-old must have used tremendous force to get the racket into a mangled state.

It was not the first time this week that Medvedev's reactions were questioned because, following a brutal match in which he battled exhaustion Wednesday, he asked a press officer to eject a journalist who asked him about the historic doping scandal associated with his home country.

Russia is banned from the Tokyo Games because of a state-sponsored doping program uncovered in 2015. The country has denied any involvement and appealed the ban. Its athletes represent the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) instead.

The reporter asked Medvedev if Russian athletes are carrying "a stigma of cheaters" following the ban.

"You should be embarrassed of yourself," fumed Medvedev, who demanded the journalist be thrown out of the media zone. It is unclear if the reporter was dismissed.

With Medvedev out of the Olympic Games men's individual bracket following his loss and racket smash, Carreno advances to Friday's semifinal against Karen Khachanov, also of the ROC.

Serbian athlete Novak Djokovic faces Alexander Zverev, of Germany, in the other semifinal.