"Daniil Medvedev is not the first one to do that" - Jimmy Connors defends Russian for giving crowd the middle finger at Paris Masters
Former American tennis legend Jimmy Conners recently defended Daniil Medvedev for showing his middle finger to the crowd at the 2023 Paris Masters.
Having received a first-round bye at the ATP Masters 100 event, Daniil Medevedev played against Grigor Dimitrov in the Round of 32. The Russian lost to the Bulgarian in a closely contested three-set match with a scoreline of 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (2).
The third seed was constantly booed by the crowd during the match, even forcing the World no. 3 to deny play until the crowd ceased making distracting noises. Daniil Medvedev also pointed the middle finger at the stands after losing the match and later claimed that he was examining his nails.
In a recent episode of the "Advantage Connors" podcast, Jimmy Connors reviewed the incident with the show's host, Brett Connors, and expressed his thoughts on the incident.
The former World No. 1 defended Daniil Medvedev, saying that the Russian wasn’t the only player to have done such a thing. He said that Medvedev had the personality to engage the crowd in his matches.
“Oh, well you know what, with all due respect, son, he’s not the first one that would do that. You know sometimes you gotta, you know it just pops up, things like that happen but you know..and you’re right. He has that kind of personality and he doesn’t mind mixing it up with the crowd and getting the crowd into it,” Connors said.
The 71-year-old American stressed the importance of knowing who you were playing for in a situation where there would be supporters and detractors.
“And you know listen, you’re not gonna go out there and have everybody for you but then again you’re not gonna go out there and have everybody against you either. So, you know you can always figure out something to play for. Either for those that are for you or to kind of piss off those rooting against you when you’re trying to come out on top.That doesn’t happen all the time but you know it’s kind of a good inspiration along the way,” he stated.
Jimmy Connors added that Medvedev's actions may have gotten him penalized in earlier times.
“But hey, you know some things happen and it would be interesting to see you know the outcome of that if that was the case, you know what happens to him. Because you know back in the old days we used to get fined a little bit for that”, he added.
“I think it’s depends on the tournament, the way I act, the way the crowd acts”- Daniil Medvedev on 2023 Paris Masters tournament
In his post-match press conference following his exit from the 2023 Paris Masters, Daniil Medvedev stated that his response during the match had nothing to do with his opinion of France as a country. The Russian said that the tournament and the attitude of the crowd was what caused him to react the way he did.
“Yeah, I think, first of all, as you say, kind of doesn't really have to do anything with France or not France. I think it just depends the tournament, the way I act, the way the crowd acts. So it's like all coming together,” he said.
On a lighter note, the third seed stated that he had many French friends who seemed to dislike the Paris Masters, and that he played better without the audience.
“In general, I have a lot of French friends, and they don't seem to like very much this tournament. Maybe there is a reason. Me, generally, yeah, I played much better here without the crowd, so that's all I can say (smiling),” Daniil Medvedev said.