Daniil Medvedev swears at fan in 'very strange ending' before closing out win over Marcos Giron
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Updated 16/01/2023 at 13:56 GMT
Daniil Medvedev had no problems in his 2023 Australian Open first-round match against Marcos Giron as he only dropped three games. However, he was involved in an altercation with a fan towards the end of the contest and was given a warning for swearing. Tim Henman said it perhaps showed some lingering discontent from last year when Medvedev called fans "disrespectful".
Medvedev warned for swearing at fan during win over Giron
Daniil Medvedev’s Australian Open first-round win over Marcos Giron ended in “very strange” circumstances as he swore at a fan.
Medvedev, who has lost in the final the last two years in Melbourne, cruised through his opener 6-0 6-1 6-2.
Considering how comfortable the match was for Medvedev it was a surprise when he appeared to tell a fan to “f**k off” as he served for the victory at 5-2 up.
He was given a warning by the umpire and then closed out the win.
“It was a very strange time to react like that,” said former British No. 1 Tim Henman on Eurosport.
“It was a very good performance but a really strange ending with the last two points with his reaction and swearing at someone in the audience. Maybe a bit of afterthought from last year.”
Last year Medvedev criticised fans at Melbourne Park for having “low IQ” and was also unhappy with the way they reacted during his final defeat to Rafael Nadal, saying they were “disrespectful”.
He has acknowledged this month that his comments “were not smart on my part”.
The fan altercation aside, former world No. 1 Medvedev looked in fantastic form as he eased past Giron.
“Medvedev was in a different class,” added Henman.
“It’s very difficult to hit through him. When you are playing in lively conditions and the ball is bouncing up it’s tougher for Medvedev to control the ball but when it’s cooler then the ball is right in his strike zone and he can hit flat through the court. He was firing on all cylinders.”
Medvedev, who could meet Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and Novak Djokovic in the final, will next face Australian John Millman.
“I’m really happy with my level,” he said on Eurosport afterwards.
“It's never easy in the first rounds, you never know what the level is, I told my coach today I was playing really good in practice before the tournament, and then I step on the warm-up court today, and I’m like, the sensations are really different.
“It’s always like this, when the tournament starts it’s a new story kind of, so I'm happy I was able to play well, run well, was physically feeling great, and looking forward to my next matches.”
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