Today host Alison Langdon suggested Melbourne was “not fond” of Daniil Medvedev following his disruptive antics at the Australian Open.
Nine’s Today host Allison Langdon has taken aim at Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev over his unsavoury tournament conduct and apparent hatred for Melbourne.
Langdon on Monday morning poked fun at the world number two after his loss to Rafael Nadal on Sunday night at Melbourne Park.
She sarcastically remarked that Medvedev was as “gracious as ever in defeat” and went on to suggest Melbourne hated him for his “villain” antics throughout the tournament.
“You can almost feel sorry for the Russian. He’s the tournament villain and he plays the part pretty well,” Langdon said.
“We’ve seen him in each round, he’s had a blow up or something. With Nick Kyrgios, he accused the crowd of having a low IQ. He went them against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“And then of course last night – he hates Melbourne. And for I think obvious reasons. Melbourne’s not too fond of him either.”
In Sunday’s final, Medvedev was notably disturbed at the crowd’s overwhelming support for 21-time Grand Slam winner Nadal, and repeatedly requested it to be quiet.
Medvedev was also heard complaining to the chair umpire about fans yelling out during play.
“They are idiots. No brains,” he was heard saying. “Empty brains. Probably in their life it must be very bad.”
In his post-match press conference, Medvedev made it clear he was upset with the crowd’s influence on the game, and gave an example of how it affected his performance.
“I’m just going to give one small example. Before Rafa serves even in the fifth set, there would be somebody, and I would even be surprised, like one guy screaming, ‘C’mon, Daniil’,” he said.
“A thousand people would be like, ‘Tsss, tsss, tsss’. That sound. Before my serve, I didn’t hear it. It’s disappointing. It’s disrespectful, it’s disappointing.”
The experience has left him doubting his future in the sport.
“I’m not sure after 30 years I’m going to want to play tennis,” he said.
“The kid that was dreaming is not anymore in me after today. It will be tougher to continue tennis when it’s like this.”
Sunday night was not the first time Medvedev made his view of the Australian Open crowds clear. After his second round win against Australian Nick Kyrgios, Medvedev claimed noisy spectators had a “low IQ”.
He also told the crowd to show more respect during his on-court interview with tennis great Jim Courier after the match.
The Russian also engaged in an angry tirade at umpire Jaume Campistol late in the second set of his rollercoaster semi-final victory against heated rival Stefanos Tsitsipas.
After first complaining about fans yelling out during his serve, Medvedev turned his fury towards the umpire and at one point shouted “look at me” before repeatedly asking the umpire if he was “stupid”.
He stormed off the court at the end of the set and called the official a “small cat”.
“You understand Greek? You understand Greek? Next time it should be a code violation,” he said, complaining about why Tsitsipas had not been given a code violation.
“If you don’t, you are, how can I call it, a small cat. Repeat the answer to my question. Will you answer my question?”
The match finished with the two players sharing an icy handshake at the net before the Melbourne crowd booed Medvedev as he stepped onto the middle of the court.
The No. 2 seed was booed again as he walked out to conduct his on-court interview with Courier.
He was then booed for a third time when he said he would be having dinner on Saturday night and might not watch Ash Barty playing in the women’s singles final.
Originally published as Today host Allison Langdon roasts Daniil Medvedev after Australian Open defeat
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