Daniil Medvedev advanced in the Australian Open 2023 with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3 win over fellow Russian Karen Khachanov on January 17 but he is making headlines for wrong reasons. In his previous clash against America's Marcos Giron on January 16 he used abusive language when a rowdy fan tried to rile him up.
Medvedev was about to serve for the match when a fan tried to heckle him. It triggered an instant response from Medvedev as he told him to ‘f*** off’.
The crowd was unhappy with Medvedev’s remark. The chair umpire was quick to intervene as he warned the runner-up of previous edition: ‘Code violation, audible obscenity, warning Mr Medvedev’.
The 26-year-old handled the heckler without making further remarks. He glared at the heckler and waited till the crowd got quiet before serving.
Medvedev registered a comprehensive win against Giron, beating him 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena.
“They are idiots. No brains, empty brains,” he said during a conversation with the chair umpire when the ends were changed. “Probably in their life, it must be very bad.”
“A thousand people would be like, ‘Tsss, tsss, tsss’. That sound. It’s disappointing. It’s disrespectful,” he said. “I’m not sure after 30 years I’m going to want to play tennis.”
However, this was not the first time Medvedev replied to a rowdy crowd in Australian Open. Last year, he went on to call chair umpire 'stupid' during clash against Greek opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Medvedev will now take on top-seed Novak Djokovic in his next encounter.
“For sure I played well last year and I'm playing well right now,” Medvedev said, “To be honest, that's all that matters. In order to win a slam, or be in the final, you have to be at your best for seven matches.”
“I managed to do it once and I was really close last year,” he added. "And that's what I'm going to try to do again in a few weeks in Melbourne.”
