Daniil Medvedev returned to the Australian crowd in the stands in Melbourne with his third-round victory over Butch van de Zandschulp at the Australian Open. The Russian tennis player was upset in his previous match against host player Nick Kyrgios by some spectators who sometimes booed him between his first and second serve. “I think their IQ is low,” he reprimanded on Thursday.
After his victory over the Dutchman two days later, he was accompanied by applause for the hubs on the track and immediately gave an explanation. Medvedev, who often had problems with hostile audiences, said: “I talked about one thing that bothered me. I also understand very well that it’s for Nick. I’m not crazy.” “I don’t have anything against the atmosphere here. I love coming to Australia and in general I get the impression that people here cheer me on too. It’s even a bit like a home match.”
Medvedev, who lost the final last year to Novak Djokovic, is the favorite for the title in Melbourne due to the Serbian’s absence. He previously defeated Van de Zandschulp in the US Open quarter-finals. “In my opinion, he has played better now. But maybe that was not the case for his service, I took advantage of that,” said Medvedev, who will play Maxime Crissy in the fourth round. The American reached the last 16 for the first time in a Grand Slam.
