WATCH: Daniil Medvedev makes light(s) of electrical malfunction during BNP Paribas Open win

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—It hasn’t always been Tennis Paradise to Daniil Medvedev, but in spite of slower courts and flickering lights, the 2022 BNP Paribas Open finalist made the most of an otherwise straightforward return to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The sole hiccup came in the second set, when a Stadium 1 Court floodlight threatened to derail the former world No. 1, leading to a lengthy delay in action in the second set of his opening round against Roberto Carballés Baena.

Medvedev later opened up about the electrical malfunction after the match, admitting it had caught his eye earlier in the match on Saturday.

“During my match I kind of saw something flickering a bit but let it go,”* the self-proclaimed hard-court "specialist" told Sofya Tartakova in an interview with Bolshe. “But at 4-3, I began focusing on the negative. I was receiving and the light was just flickering, flickering, flickering before my eyes.

“At first, chair umpire and supervisor told me to continue but I told them to come to my returning spot because the flicker can't be seen from the other spots on the court. They came, saw it, said they would try to fix it but in the end could do nothing about it.

“I was like, ‘Okay, If I lose I'm gonna blame it all on them,’” he added with a laugh.

Once the match resumed, Medvedev managed to win the final two games to clinch a 6-2, 6-3 win over Carballés Baena, booking an intriguing third round against No. 29 seed Sebastian Korda, who upset him last January at the 2023 Australian Open.

*quotes translated from Russian.