By Erik Gudris | Thursday, January 20, 2022
Daniil Medvedev muted Nick Kyrgios then called out AO fans for their noise-making between his first and second serves.
Photo credit: Getty
World No. 2 and oddsmakers favorite Daniil Medvedev shut down a dangerous opponent and then later a noisy Australian crowd to reach the Australian Open third round.
Medvedev dismissed Australia’s own Nick Kyrgios 7-6(1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in just under three hours. But it was the boisterous crowd, and their ongoing penchant to yell “Siuu!” - that sounds like booing - that he really took issue with later in the on-court interview.
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Kyrgios, a former Australian Open quarterfinalist, and currently ranked No. 115, brought the entertainment and shot-making that’s expected of him to make the second round contest an engaging one. Yet it was Medvedev’s solid ball striking and steady intensity that wore down Kyrgios at the end.
In the post-match interview, Jim Courier, a former two-time Australian Open champion, asked Medvedev how it was able to control his emotions and play against the partisan crowd, that was when the Russian shared his candid thoughts.
“It’s your only choice when you get booed between first and second series so you just to have stay calm and win the match.” Medvedev referred to fans either booing him or yelling “Siuu!” in honor of famous footballer Christiano Ronaldo.
That jab prompted the crowd to really boo the Russian.
As Courier asked his next question, the noise was so loud that Medvedev could not hear him.
“Guys I can’t hear him. Please show some respect fo Jim Courier who won here guys thank you.” He then added, “Let him speak guys. If you respect somebody at least respect Jim Courier.”
The Aussie crowd yelling “Siuu!” has become an issue in several matches during the event with many players saying it disrupts them during the match, and even during points.
Later, the 2021 finalist said those fans "doing it, probably have a low IQ."
Medvedev was later asked about the issue in his press conference and said crowd noise was challenging.
“Yeah, I have never been to a match with Cristiano so I don't know if they are trying to do like what Cristiano is doing after the match or if people on the stadium do it," Medvedev said. "Because when you watch on TV there are commentators, so I cannot really hear it. So it can be funny to know. I actually wrote "siuu" in the camera afterwards because when Jim on the court started talking about this, I was like, Well, okay, I'm going to write it then because everybody is doing it.
"And, yeah, the only thing, between first and second serve, that's where, you know, it's tough. It's not good for the game I think to do it, because probably people don't know, but when you're getting ready for the second serve, well, it's a tough moment. I think, yeah, people should respect both players and just, you know, don't talk in these moments.
"If not during the match, again, you know, it's not easy to be there when the whole stadium is against you, but probably if you look at, if I will look it on the TV, I'm probably not going to do it tonight but maybe after the tournament, I'm going to be, like, Wow, that's a great atmosphere for a tennis match.”
Medvedev will next face US Open quarterfinalist Botic van de Zandschulp in the next round.