At the US Open 2019, the Americans had discovered a tall lanky Russian (1.98 meters), who wielded the middle finger. Immediately designated public enemy number one, Daniil Medvedev had finished the tournament asphyxiated in the final by Rafael Nadal, but with a small victory: having finally succeeded in putting the New York crowd in his pocket. In Melbourne, the Australian public is not yet conquered by the style of the world number 2, as cabochard as his tennis.
Friday January 28, when it was time to play his semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, the whistles as soon as he entered the court were there to testify to it. This did not prevent him from winning against his Greek rival (7-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1) to join Rafael Nadal on Sunday in the final.
On the contrary. Medvedev claims it, he takes malicious pleasure in playing with a hostile crowd. Regularly, this polyglot provokes the spectators, as if to say: you want me to lose? Encourage me. You want me to win? Hate me! Those of the Australian Open could verify it these days. “It’s disappointing to see people whistle between the first and second balls, some must have a low intelligence quotient”, he dared, on leaving the court after his 2and turn against the local troublemaker, Nick Kyrgios.
A rebellious, almost vicious character
On the court or at the microphone, Daniil Medvedev speaks as he plays: without filter. His adversaries are not to be outdone: they too bear the brunt of his rebellious, almost vicious character. The Russian obviously had little taste for the modernization of serve and volley by Maxime Cressy (70and) during his 3and tower. “This is boring! » (“What am I bored”), he grumbled, loud enough for the sentence to reach the ears of the Franco-American.
He then apologized: “It’s true that I went a little crazy during the meeting. I was trying to say things he could hear so that he was like, ‘what the hell is he saying, Medvedev?’, and started missing two or three shots…”
In the semi-finals, it was the turn of the chair umpire to take for his rank. Exasperated by the behavior of the father of Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom he accused of coaching (prohibited by the regulations), he crossed the red line with Jaume Campistol, whom he accused of not sanctioning him: “Dude, are you stupid? His dad can talk to every point! Are you going to answer my question? My god, you are so dumb. Look at me, I’m talking to you! » Magnanimous, despite this offensive behavior, the referee only gave Medvedev a warning.
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