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Medvedev: Hero and villain

DANIIL Medvedev has tapped into the energy of the crowd at Melbourne Park by playing both hero and villain, while the world number two’s mind games have also earned him comparisons with American great Jimmy Connors.

Similarly to his run to the US Open final in 2019, where the Russian antagonised fans at Flushing Meadows early on before ultimately winning them over, Medvedev has engaged with crowds at the Australian Open in his four victories so far.

The 25-year-old, who plays Felix Auger-Aliassime in a quarter-final on Wednesday, criticised fans for emulating Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous “Siuuu!” goal celebration during a match and later said some had a “low IQ”.

But after his third round triumph over Botic van de Zandschulp, the US Open champion was trying to win them over again.

“Every good relationship must have its ups and downs, so I think it’s good, it’s entertaining, and I think it’s real. There is some relationship going on,” he said.

Roger Rasheed, who has coached players such as Lleyton Hewitt, Gael Monfils and Grigor Dimitrov, said Medvedev was skilful in using the reactions of fans to his advantage.

“It is powerful if you can use it and absorb it, but it has also hurt people in the past because they feel the heat of all of that and the emotions of it, and because it is so high-octane, you can actually get too wound up,” he said.

“Some people can’t emotionally stay stable through that time.

“Some people raise their level and it gets a bit too intense for them. It is quite a balancing act.

“Then there are players who rise and love that space and they use it. Daniil is one of them.”

Craig O’Shannessy, a strategy analyst working with Australian player Alexei Popyrin, said Medvedev had mastered a double-act on the court.

“He does both sides of that equation probably better than anyone at the moment,” he said.

“I mean, (Nick) Kyrgios is another guy who does it. It is not easy to play the hero and the villain, but Medvedev pulls it off.

“He injects himself into that negativity with the crowd, but that still helps pick him up. Then he will do the opposite and get the crowd on his side, which will help elevate him emotionally as well.”

Rasheed said crowds liked that Medvedev spoke his mind, a trait which Swedish great Mats Wilander said the Russian shared with Connors.

Medvedev’s description of fourthround opponent Maxime Cressy’s style as “so boring” was similar to the way Connors used to provoke opponents, added Wilander, a three-time Australian Open champion.

“It was very unusual for a player to say what Daniil (said) out loud and then confess to the fact that, ‘Yeah. I was trying to get into his head,’” Wilander said on Eurosport.

“In the ’80s, there was one particular player … Jimmy Connors who definitely tried to get into his opponents’ heads. It’s very honest from Medvedev.”

Medvedev labelled the tennis tour’s bathroom break rule as “stupid” after rowing with the chair umpire about freshening up during his sweaty fourth round win over Cressy.

Medvedev barked at French chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein over the recently updated rule which limits players to a maximum of three minutes off the court, with an additional two if they opt for a change of clothes.

After a 6-2 7-6(4) 6-7(4) 7-5 win over the American, the second seed said players needed more leeway to freshen up on days of extreme heat.

“The thing is that I know that in the 35 (degree) heat, when you’re playing in the sun, I’m going to want to change after two sets because you’re going to get wet,” he told reporters.

“I’m going to want to change my shorts, underneath my shorts, my socks, my shoes. You need like a good four minutes to do it, and my body wanted to pee after the first set.

“So I don’t see any logic in these rules, so hence I can call this stupid.”

Medvedev was already in a mood about being put on the Margaret Court Arena second showcourt for a second match in a row, rather than the Rod Laver Arena centre court.

“I was quite mad,” said the US Open champion, the highest seed at Melbourne Park after world number one Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia.

“First of all is where I really don’t know, like, what should I do to play on centre courts in Grand Slams?

“Because I won the last Grand Slam. I mean, I’m the highest seed here, and to play against Maxime would be easier on Rod Laver (Arena), more space.

“When you play on a smaller court it’s tougher to play somebody who does serve and volley than on a bigger court.”

SPORT

en-za

2022-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://thepostza.pressreader.com/article/282114934958801

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