Daniil Medvedev: “I Did Some Things I’m Not Proud Of”

Daniil Medvedev fixed a place in last eight after defeating 118th-ranked German qualifier Dominik Koepfer 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(2) at the US Open 2019 on Sunday.

Earlier, Daniil Medvedev was fined with $9,000 for an obscene gesture and unsportsmanlike conduct during his third-round match against Feliciano Lopez. Medvedev had angrily snatched a towel out of the ball man’s hands.

Subsequently, he threw his racquet on the court after he received the code of violation. The Russian was also seen showing middle finger on the big screen of the Louis Armstrong Stadium which led to the crowd booing him.

However, Daniil Medvedev is trying to make up for his mistakes in the last match as he said in the post-match interview on Sunday, “Talking about the last match, I was an idiot, to be honest. I did some things that I’m not proud of and that I’m working on to be a better person on the court because I do think I’m a good person out of the court.”

After securing a victory against Feliciano Lopez, Daniil Medvedev encouraged the crowd to continue booing him as he suggested that their criticism gave him the energy to win the match.

Medvedev also explained that he tried to engage with the crowd during his fourth-round match but the crowd at the US Open is the most electrifying crowd.

He said, “Talking about today, I think, I mean, I was just, during my match I was completely focused. After the match, I engaged a little bit with the crowd. But we all know how New York crowd can be. It’s probably the most electric crowd in the world, I think.”

The 23-year-old further continued, “Especially, I mean, playing this week on big courts, I could feel it. Today I was just engaging with the crowd and hopefully — hopefully it was fun for them and for me. As I said, it gave me a lot of energy to win.”

The world No.5 will next face Stan Wawrinka to book a place in the semifinals and continue his dream run at the US Open 2019.