Daniil ridiculed the opponent’s health problems and yelled at the fans.
Daniil Medvedev’s path to another Grand Slam title is getting more difficult. In the first round of the US Open, the Russian smashed Attila Balazs to smithereens, giving him only two games, but Christopher O’Connell turned out to be a more serious opponent. Daniil had to give all his best, and there were some breakdowns on the court.
Medvedev was literally furious!
Two wins out of two
Australian O’Connell started the US Open with a difficult win over compatriot Max Purcell. Their match lasted almost three hours, and Christopher was able to snatch victory only on a tie-break in the fourth set.
Previously, O’Connell and Medvedev played each other twice in official tournaments. Their first meeting took place three years ago – interestingly, also in the second round of the US Open. Then Daniel took over in the minimum possible three sets. Another match took place six months ago in the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 tournament in Doha – there Medvedev won again, but with great difficulty.
Of course, Christopher hoped for revenge. But objectively it was hard for him to resist the third racket of the world. Yes, and Daniel himself understood that no one would forgive him for a knockout in the second round.
Confident start
The mood of the Russian was visible from the first minutes. Even the public, which actively supported O’Connell, did not interfere with him. Break Australian in the second game also did not bother Daniil. He held his serve confidently and looked great at the reception. As a result – 6:2 in the first set.
The second game also took place under Medvedev’s dictation. O’Connell took the same two games, but this time without a break. It was clear that it was extremely uncomfortable for him to play with such Daniel. The Russian did not experience any problems and calmly took the second set – 6:2.
Small miracle
Before the start of the third installment, the Australian took a short medical break. True, at first this did not help him in any way: Medvedev led 4:2 and was preparing to celebrate another easy victory on the New York courts. But it turned out not to be so simple.
In the middle of the third set, O’Connell unexpectedly stepped up and almost stopped making mistakes. The sharp transformation of the opponent confused Medvedev, who out of the blue gave three games in a row. The match became more viscous and tense, and the Australian performed a small miracle by moving the set to a tie-break and winning it – 7:6 (8:6).
“Symptoms? I lost the set”
Of course, Medvedev was extremely dissatisfied with this alignment. Especially when you consider that he missed two match points. At that moment, he remembered that the Australian used the help of a doctor, and decided to make fun of it.
Daniel called the doctor to the court and demanded to give him the same medicine that Christopher had. The doctor explained that the opponent was having trouble breathing. Medvedev said that it was also difficult for him to breathe. What followed was a non-trivial dialogue.
“Are you really sick?” the doctor asked Medvedev.
– No. But I want to be in the same conditions as him,” the tennis player replied.
– Do you have symptoms? — said the doctor.
– Eat. I lost the set,” Medvedev joked.
Of course, he didn’t need any help. The Russian in this way decided to relieve tension and anger from the lost set.
“Are you dumb or not?”
In the fourth set, Medvedev had another irritant. He was hampered by two fans who were shouting at the Russian’s serve. At some point, Daniel could not stand it.
– Hey, can you shut up? Are you stupid? Dumb or not? the tennis player shouted at the fans.
The referee of the meeting sided with Medvedev and asked the audience not to make noise. Daniel, in his ironic manner, commented on the request of the judge.
– At least listen to him. You don’t listen to anyone,” the Russian said.
Anniversary victory
However, in the fourth set, Medvedev returned to his usual killer mode. He was not even hindered by another medical break, which O’Connell took advantage of. Moreover, the pause was without pills and absolutely on business: trying to play at the net, the Australian tore his leg to blood.
Medvedev was in complete control of the set. The hassle in the third installment was only a temporary clouding. Daniel calmly won with a score of 6:2 and stepped into the third round. This victory, by the way, was his 250th on hard in his career.
Now Christopher O’Connell can focus on improving his health. But Medvedev has no time to relax: his next opponent is Sebastian Baez from Argentina.
