If Daniil Medvedev continues on his tennis career trajectory, he will become world No.1 and win many, many Grand Slam tournaments over the coming decade.
But he certainly has some work to do in learning how to endear himself to foreign crowds, unless he’s happy to get booed continuously each time he steps onto a court.
This year’s Australian Open threatened to be hijacked by current men’s world No.1 Novak Djokovic, who was sensationally thrown out of the country the day before the tournament began due to his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine.
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If Djokovic had played, it was widely agreed the Serbian legend would have been public enemy number one, and most likely been booed relentlessly by a Melbourne crowd that’s spent far too long locked down as a result of the virus.
In Djokovic’s absence, the antagonists looked for a new target at which to vent their frustrations. Medvedev willingly obliged.
The Russian is no stranger to playing the role of the bad guy. He went head to head with the US Open crowd two years ago, before they mercilessly booed him as he served for his maiden Grand Slam title in September, beating Djokovic in straight sets in the final.
He waited until the second round of this Australian Open to begin his war with the local fans.
Medvedev beat Aussie challenger Nick Kyrgios in four sets, during which the latter’s antics encouraged some spectators to momentarily forget the unwritten etiquette of being in a tennis crowd.
When the Russian won the match, he sarcastically brushed off the crowd’s response. In his on-court interview afterwards he lambasted them for being “disrespectful” to interviewer Jim Courier, and later told Eurosport, “I guess some people just have a low IQ”.
During his fourth-round win against Maxime Cressy, Medvedev went toe-to-toe with the chair umpire over his implementation of the shot clock.
“I freakin’ cannot compete, and you’re going to wait seven seconds and then see zero, and you don’t say anything,” Medvedev raged.
“The rules are for who? For who are the rules, man?”
The crowd took exception to Medvedev after his epic five-set win over Felix Auger-Aliassime when he admitted post-match; “I don’t know if people are going to like it, but I told myself, ‘what Novak would do?”.
Rolling Djokovic and Medvedev into one moment? Turns out that didn’t do a great job of getting the fans on side.
Still, the Australian Open had seen nothing yet.
It was during his semi-final showdown with old nemesis Stefanos Tsitsipas that Medvedev properly exploded.
During a change of ends, he screamed at the chair umpire and accused his opponent’s father of coaching the player from the grandstand.
“His father can coach every point? Are you stupid?” Medvedev said to the chair umpire.
“Can you answer my question, please? Can his father talk every point?
“Oh my God, you are so bad. How can you be so bad in a semi-final of a Grand Slam?
“Look at me, I’m talking to you.”
Medvedev then asked the umpire if he spoke Greek, and said he must be “a small cat”.
Tsitsipas lost the match, but he could only laugh afterwards about the Medvedev outburst.
“It’s funny. I don’t pay attention to the stuff,” Tsitsipas said.
“I know players like to do this stuff to throw you off mentally.
“Could maybe be a tactic. It’s all right. He’s not the most mature person anyways.”
Medvedev was given a chance to redeem himself after that match. Courier, again conducting the on-court interview, asked the winner how he planned to watch Ash Barty’s final against Danielle Collins the following night.
Medvedev – oblivious to the road Courier was trying to lead him down – said he couldn’t watch the match as he would be at dinner.
The crowd did not take it well, and Medvedev quickly corrected himself.
“I’m going to watch on my phone guys! I’m going to watch it.”
Medvedev entered the Australian Open final as the villain. Rafael Nadal was the hero, out to vanquish the new enemy of the Melbourne Park faithful.
And it went to script – eventually – with the Spaniard triumphing in a five-set epic that will go down as one of the best Grand Slam finals in history.
During the contest Medvedev once again blew off some steam, this time directing his frustrations at the ball kids.
Medvedev also instructed the chair umpire on more than one occasion to silence the crowd around Rod Laver Arena.
“Can you announce that whoever shouts before first and second serve – is an idiot,” he told the chair umpire.
Medvedev also looked displeased during the official presentations afterwards, with Channel Nine cameras capturing him mouthing something indiscernible as he stood next to Nadal.
If he returns to Melbourne next year, there’s every chance he will be the favourite to win the men’s draw of the Open.
Whether or not he can become a crowd favourite in time remains to be seen.
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