Daniil Medvedev again complained about ball quality on the ATP Tour as he described the issue as the “reason” for his early Paris Masters exit.

World No 5 Medvedev was beaten in three sets by Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday, with the unseeded Australian prevailing 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4) in a fiery encounter in Bercy.

Fourth seed Medvedev was the Paris Masters champion in 2020 and finalist in 2021, though has now failed to win a match for the past three editions of the event.

The Russian has repeatedly bemoaned the balls in use at multiple ATP events in recent weeks and, speaking after his loss, again pointed towards this as a reason for his recent struggles.

He said: “First rounds are always very tough for me because now the matches I was winning before maybe 3-3, I cannot do it anymore.

“Every match I play I have to fight. I have to win 7-6 in the third. And sometimes I lose.

“That’s a reality. It’s the most first-round (first match) exits for me since probably 2018, I would guess, or maybe even further, on hard courts. And there is a reason for this.

“I don’t want to be the one who is crying when he’s losing the first round, but I made semis in Beijing and quarters in Shanghai. I lost only to Alcaraz and Sinner.

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“As I say, some players will like this ball, so I get it. I’m crying because it disadvantages me.

“But if you take six balls out of the new balls out of the can, if you look closely and you bounce them, there are going to be six different balls. I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Medvedev has already sealed his place at the ATP Finals, though this has undoubtedly been a difficult season for the former world No 1.

He has not won a title since May 2023 and has not reached a final since Indian Wells back in March, with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner proving to be repeated stumbling blocks in 2024.

2020 champion Medvedev will be at the ATP Finals for a sixth straight year, though has admitted he is struggling with confidence heading into Turin.

He added: “Tennis is very important, also confidence, the problem is that I will arrive in Turin without confidence, so I will try to build it through training and practice time, this is very important to me.

“There I will face the toughest opponents, so besides this, you also have to be in perfect physical condition, but tennis is the most important of all.

“You need to make a winning return when you need it, for example.”

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