Tennis Star Daniil Medvedev Attacks Camera With Racket At Australian Open

Tennis star Daniil Medvedev paused his Australian Open match to beat the crap out of a net camera this week ... an epic meltdown that apparently worked wonders, as he went on to win by the skin of his teeth.

The outburst happened as the Russian was on the verge of going down two sets to one ... when he lost a point on a solid rally with Kasidit Samrej, the 418th-ranked player in the world.

After the tough moment, Medvedev approached the net and unloaded his racket on a camera that was sitting on the net ... shattering it -- and damaging his racket -- in the process.

Naturally, the No. 5 seed in the tournament was hit with a penalty for his actions ... but despite the tantrum, he was able to turn things around and win in five rounds.

Medvedev was in a joking manner after the match ... saying, "I know I play better when I play more tennis."

"So I was like, 'Why play 1 hour, 30 (minutes?)' Need a minimum of three hours, at least, to feel my shots better."