Daniil Medvedev hints he could miss two Grand Slams because of ‘disrespectful’ Australian Open crowd
Daniil Medvedev may choose to skip the French Open and Wimbledon and “not play past 30” after hostile Australian Open crowds made “the kid stop dreaming.”
Reigning US Open champion Medvedev failed to become the first man in the Open Era to win successive Grand Slam when Rafael Nadal battled back to claim a historic 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
Medvedev provoked and antagonised the Melbourne Park crowds throughout the tournament, starting in his second round match against home favourite Nick Kyrgios when he said some fans had a “low IQ.”
Australian fans were also aggrieved when Medvedev thought “what would Novak [Djokovic] do?” after coming back against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
It was clear who was the fan favourite and villain from the walk-outs in the ‘Happy Slam’ final, with Nadal entering to applause and cheer whilst Medvedev was met with boos.
Medvedev’s frustrations with the crowds erupted on multiple occasions at this year’s Australian Open. The first coming in his semi-final match against Stefanos Tsitsipas and the second in the final against Nadal.
The Russian was subsequently fined a total of $12,000 for his semi-final outburst, $8,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and $4,000 for an obscenity.
In his post-match press conference, Medvedev said “before Rafa serves in the fifth set there would be somebody, and I would even be surprised, like one guy screaming, ‘C’mon Daniil’.
“A thousand people would be like, ‘Tsss, tsss, tsss’. That sound. Before my serve, I didn’t hear it. It’s disrespectful, it’s disappointing. I’m not sure after 30 years I’m going to want to play tennis.
“I think nationality plays a key [role]. It’s just that Russian tennis was a little bit down for some time.
“Hopefully we’ll try to get more people to go for us (Russia). But I can definitely see when you playing somebody from the other country, they would go for them and not for a Russian.
“I’m just talking about few moments where the kid [in me] stopped dreaming, and today was one of them. I’m not going to really tell why.
“From now on I’m playing for myself, for my family, to provide my family, for people that trust in me, of course for all the Russians because I feel a lot of support there.
“I’m going to say it like this, if there is a tournament on hard courts in Moscow, before Roland Garros or Wimbledon, I’m going to go there even if I miss the Wimbledon or Roland Garros.
“The kid stopped dreaming. The kid is going to play for himself. That’s it. That’s my story.”
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