World No.8 Daniil Medvedev hits a rowdy Australian Open fan with a VERY rude insult – after calling Aussie spectators ‘idiots’ with ‘no brains’ at Melbourne Park last year
- The Russian tennis star has returned to Australia after losing last year’s final
- He has shown the form that propelled him to that decider against Rafa Nadal
- Medvedev has also shown the same form when it comes to battling the crowd
- In his round one match of the ’23 Open Medvedev has already sworn at a heckler
Talented yet combustible Russian tennis champion Daniil Medvedev has melted down once again at the Australian Open, this time giving a heckler a very rude message.
The former World No.1 – who has tumbled to No.8 in the rankings after limited play in 2022 – made short work of his US opponent Marcos Giron in round one on Monday.
Medvedev showed he is in the same form that propelled him to the 2022 final against Rafael Nadal – widely regarded as one of the best Aussie Open finals ever – by dismantling Giron 6-0, 6-1, 6-2.
However, he also showed that he is just as prone to a meltdown, telling a heckler to ‘f*** off’ on the final point of the match.
The crowd was stunned by his direct attack on the heckler, gasping audibly.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev reacts as he plays against Marcos Giron of the US during their men’s singles match on day one of the Australian Open
The chair umpire acted immediately, saying: ‘Code violation, audible obscenity, warning Mr Medvedev’.
The Russian was not finished, though. He glared at the heckler and demanded they be silent before making comical faces and shaking his head before getting back to play.
He has form on the board.
In 2022 Medvedev infamously raged at the Melbourne Park fans, his Greek opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas and the chair umpire in their semi-final last year.
First he attacked the crowd.
‘They are idiots. No brains, empty brains,’ he said to the chair umpire at a change of ends. ‘Probably in their life, it must be very bad.’
Medvedev argues with the umpire during his men’s singles semi-final match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas on day twelve of the Australian Open in 2022
He then labelled the crowd ‘disrespectful’ in his post-match media conference.
‘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.’
The chair umpire did not escape his wrath, either.
He suggested that the umpire would be a coward if he did not penalise Tsitsipas. ‘If you don’t, you are a small cat,’ he said.
Medvedev was not the happiest runner-up after surrendering a two sets to love advantage to eventually lose to Nadal in an epic final
Medvedev also later said he was targeted because of his nationality.
‘I think nationality plays a key,’ he said.
‘I can definitely see when you [are] playing somebody from the other country, they would go for them and not for [the] Russian… or something like this.
‘I feel there is a lot more buzz about tennis in Russia right now. Hopefully, we’ll try to get more people to go for us.’
Medvedev was also infamously excluded from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships along with all Russian and Belarusian competitors.
He posted a cheeky Tweet after the final between Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic about his ‘perfect sunday’ watching Formula 1 with his trophies on clear display in the background.
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