"I would have liked to see Daniil Medvedev place more blame on himself, he should not be acting like such a victim" - Steve Flink on Russian's loss to Rafael Nadal
Tennis journalist Steve Flink has criticized Daniil Medvedev for his antics following his loss to Rafael Nadal in the final of the 2022 Australian Open. The American feels the World No. 2 should have shouldered the blame for his own collapse rather than accusing the crowd of showing a lack of respect.
The Russian was within touching distance of his second Grand Slam title, as he led by two sets and had multiple breakpoints in the third. But his game crumbled and Nadal ended up winning 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to become the first male player to win 21 Grand Slams.
It could only be him...
The moment @RafaelNadal became the first man in the Open era to win the @AustralianOpen final from two sets down 💪
https://t.co/WZx42PUGKA
What followed was one of the strangest press conferences in tennis as Medvedev hit out at spectators for not having his back. He revealed that their behavior had crushed "the dreams of a kid" and that going forward he would prioritize tournaments in Russia over major events like Wimbledon.
Speaking with Gill Gross on his YouTube channel, Steve Flink remarked that Medvedev lost only because he could not capitalize on the "clutch moments" and that he should not point fingers at the crowd. He also pointed out that it was in front of the same crowd that Medvedev won the first two sets by playing brilliant tennis.
"I would have liked to see Daniil Medvedev place a little bit more of the blame on himself. He did give Rafa some credit but I don't think he should be pointing the finger [at the crowd] and acting like such a victim. Because he was the one who had a two-set lead," Flink said. "He was the one who led 3-2, 0-40 in the third set. So it is not as if the crowd suddenly stopped him there. He just didn't come through in the clutch moments of the match."
The 69-year-old acknowledged that the majority of spectators at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday wanted Rafael Nadal to win. But he was not sure why it bothered Medvedev, seeing as how he managed to win against Novak Djokovic at the 2021 US Open in the presence of a similarly hostile crowd.
"No doubt the crowd was 99% for Rafa, and I know that is difficult. Daniil Medvedev has proven himself to be a champion and he dealt with the US Open crowd that was ready to erupt at any instant for Djokovic to try to win the Grand Slam last September," Flink said. "So I am a little puzzled that he would have found the crowd [at the 2022 Australian Open] so objectionable."
"Daniil Medvedev was drowning himself in a sea of self-pity; I don't want to see him get in the habit" - Steve Flink
Steve Flink feels Daniil Medvedev's comments at his post-match press conference were a reflection of his mental status during the match, which led to his eventual downfall. The American hopes the World No. 2 can avoid "drowning in a sea of self-pity" in the future, since he possesses a lot of natural charisma and honesty.
"His remarks after the match, that long diatribe that he went on talking about himself as a kid... he was drowning himself in a sea of self-pity. That's how I looked at it. That tells you a little bit about what he was thinking during the match. There was a lot of charm and honesty about that too, but I don't want to see him get in the habit of making himself the victim," Flink added.