"It's a pity Victoria Azarenka got booed at Wimbledon, and probably for no reason" - Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev has weighed in on Victoria Azarenka's response in her post-match press conference after the latter was booed off the court by the Wimbledon crowd.
Azarenka suffered a fourth-round defeat against Elina Svitolina in the 2023 edition at SW19. Despite enjoying a first-set lead, the Belarusian was defeated by the wildcard entrant, who wrapped up the match with a scoreline of 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(9) to reach the quarterfinals.
After the match concluded, Azarenka gave a polite wave of her hand to the Ukrainian, who deferred from responding. Svitolina had previously made it clear that she would not shake hands with any Russian or Belarusian players on the WTA Tour until the situation in Ukraine is de-escalated and the Russian troops peacefully withdraw from the country.
Azarenka was also booed and jeered by the Wimbledon spectators before walking off the court, who were possibly not aware of the reasons for Svitolina's actions and believed the former World No. 1 to be in the wrong for not going for a handshake.
In light of the event, Daniil Medvedev was recently asked about his thoughts on the matter in his post-match press conference at Wimbledon.
Medvedev appreciated Azarenka's response in her own press conference about not sensationalizing the incident and stated that it was a "pity" that she got booed in the first place.
He also believed that the crowd wasn't fully aware of the story behind the duo not shaking hands; rather, they solely focused on the World No. 20 not greeting Svitolina.
"As she said, I actually liked her response on the press conference, she respected the decision of Svitolina, about not shaking hands. I think the crowd that comes, Court 1 is what, maybe 10,000 people. I actually don't know."
"They're not all going to know the story behind this. They just saw Vika not shaking hands. That's why I think they booed her. I liked her response where she said it was a great match and let's talk about tennis," spoke Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev reaches Wimbledon quarterfinal for the first time
Meanwhile, third seed Daniil Medvedev has reached his maiden Wimbledon quarterfinal after he registered an 80-minute win over Czech Jiri Lehecka in the grass-court Major.
Medvedev was leading the match 6-4, 6-2 when his opponent requested for a medical timeout after experiencing a right foot injury. The Czech was soon forced to retire from the match and gave the 27-year-old a walkover into the event's last eight.
With this win, the Russian has now achieved the feat of reaching the quarterfinals in all four Majors. Furthermore, he also joined the ranks of Serbian star Novak Djokovic after he registered his 60th Grand Slam win, becoming one of the only two players in the top 20 to accomplish this remarkable milestone.
Daniil Medvedev will now square off against Christopher Eubanks in the quarterfinals after the American stunned fifth seed Stefanos Tstisipas in the fourth round.