Medvedev brawls, teases and resumes sarcastic villain role at Australian Open

Daniil Medvedev, used to facing a certain hostility from fans, once again seemed to enjoy the role of “villain” to overcome another flamboyant tennis player, Australian Nick Kyrgios, this Thursday (20).

In the Rod Laver arena night round, the world number two showed cool blood in the face of fanatical support for Kyrgios to secure a 3-set victory to 1 (7/6 [1], 6/4, 4/6, 6/2) and advance to the third round of the Australian Open.

Medvedev, the 2021 US Open winner and top favorite in Melbourne in the absence of Novak Djokovic, expressed his irritation in the aftermath during the on-court interview.

Asked by interviewer, former American tennis player Jim Courier, how he managed to keep his emotions in check, the 25-year-old said he had no choice as he was being booed between his first and second serves.

Courier went on to explain that some fans were actually imitating Cristiano Ronaldo’s signature cry of “Siuuu!” in celebration of goals, but Medvedev lost patience once and for all as the noise returned.

“Sorry I can’t hear. Show some respect for Jim Courier. Thanks guys. Let him talk, please,” the athlete said, addressing the crowd.

In the sequence, the tennis player wrote “siuuuu” on the lens of the broadcast camera.

“Break point, second serve and people are cheering like you’ve already double fouled. This is just disappointing… Not everyone is doing it, but those who are doing it probably have a low IQ.” Medvedev later told Eurosport.

The situation is not new for the Russian, who at the 2019 US Open became the player Flushing Meadows fans loved to hate. He aroused the public’s dislike by furiously snatching a towel from a football player’s hands and flashing his middle finger at the stands. After winning that third-round game, he sarcastically thanked him for the energy the crowd had given him.

Motivated, the Russian advanced to the decision and managed to regain part of the support of the crowd by recognizing that he had acted stupidly. Even more so by taking Rafael Nadal to five sets in an exciting final.

Last year, when he won his first Grand Slam in New York, Medvedev was already much closer to the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. He is now hoping to be able to do something similar at Melbourne Park and improve on his runner-up from last year.

“People should respect both players,” he told reporters. “It’s not easy being there when the whole stadium is against you,” he added.

“But probably, if I watch it on TV, I probably won’t do it tonight, but maybe after the tournament… I’ll be like, ‘Wow, this is a great atmosphere for a tennis match,'” he acknowledged.