Second seed Daniil Medvedev says he was ‘surprised’ by the reception of the crowd during his second round match against Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist strolled to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2, win over the Spanish teenager in less than 100 minutes. Impressively the Russian won 95% (38/40) of his first service points and hit 20 winners against 12 unforced errors. Making it the sixth consecutive match he won on the Tour after claiming the Mallorca Open trophy last week.
Despite the performance, during parts of his match Medvedev was left wanting more from those watching him. After winning the first set, there were sounds of groans from the crowd on Court No.1 who were cheering for the underdog. Prompting the world No.2 to put his hand to his left ear to taunt them.
“I like to interact with the fans. I feel like British fans at Wimbledon are the most rational ones because they don’t really have the favourites, except of course Rafa, Roger, and Novak, which is completely normal. They go for everybody.” He said during his press conference.
“That’s actually why I was kind of surprised.”
Medvedev says his teasing was a method to try and win over the crowd, which he believed worked. It is not the first time the 25-year-old has had a run in with fans at a tournament. During the 2019 US Open he was at one stage booed before later going on to win them over following his run to the final that year.
“It was nothing against them. It was to try to pump them up a little bit on my side also. I think it worked,” he explained.
“I think some of the fans actually got angry. When I say ‘some’, maybe 10 people behind my right ear. I was hearing them all the match later, but it was even fun. The rest of the crowd, I felt like they enjoyed the match. That’s the most important.”
Following his latest win, Medvedev is through to the third round which equals his best-ever run at Wimbledon. This year he has a shot at claiming the world No.1 spot. But to do that he needs to either win the title or reach the final with rival Novak Djokovic not doing so.
As for the prospect of claiming his maiden major title at SW19, Medvedev says there is a growing belief that he and his rivals can end the stronghold of the Big Three. The trio has won 15 out of the past 16 Grand Slam events. The only exception was Dominic Thiem’s triumph at the US Open last year.
“I think all the top 10 guys have the feeling they’re capable of doing it because we’re all in semis, finals. Sascha almost won his slam at the US Open. I was in two finals. We all know we are capable of going far. I think that’s the mindset of everybody,” said Medvedev.
“But you need to take it match by match. If you lose in the third round you’re not going to be in the final.”
Medvedev’s Wimbledon record now stands at seven wins against three losses.
