"Rafael Nadal has just made his comeback, of course fans will support him" - Aslan Karatsev on Daniil Medvedev's disappointment with Australian Open crowd
medvedev" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Daniil Medvedev's countryman Aslan Karatsev recently expressed his views on the the World No. 2's reaction to the crowd during the Australian Open final on Sunday.
In his press conference following his defeat to Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final, Medvedev expressed his disappointment with the behavior of the crowd at Rod Laver Arena. The Russian claimed that the crowd disrupted his service games regularly, while also implying that they didn't root for him due to his nationality.
Karatsev believes the crowd's lack of support for Medvedev had a lot to do with Nadal's stature as a player. Speaking to the press ahead of his participation at this year's Maharashtra Open, the Russian opined that the 2021 US Open winner was jeered because Nadal winning the title was the outcome the crowd wanted.
The World No. 15 sympathized with his countryman, but insisted that he find a way to move on from the incident.
“I think for me it’s pretty normal (fans supporting Nadal), Nadal has just made his comeback and didn’t play for almost half a year," Karatsev said. Of course, fans will support him. He’s coming back from injury and the same thing happens if you play against Roger."
"I know it can be disturbing when fans try to distract you while serving and all, but I think sooner or later Daniil will realize that and move on."
Karatsev then insisted that he could relate to how the World No. 2 felt in the aftermath of the title match, as he himself had experienced boos and jeers on many occasions in the past.
“The same thing happened with me ( not getting supported or being booed from the crowd) but you cannot do anything like telling the fans ‘c’mon you support me, that would not make sense.”
A prejudiced fan yelled "Back to Russia" at Daniil Medvedev during the 2022 Australian Open final
During his press conference, Medvedev was asked whether his nationality had anything to do with the lack of support for him. He replied in the positive, claiming that the local crowd would rather "not go for the Russian".
"I think nationality plays a key," Medvedev said. "It's just that Russian tennis was a little bit down for some time. I think I'm trying really..." Medvedev said to the press earlier on Sunday. "But yeah, I can definitely see when you playing somebody from the other country, they would go for them and not for the Russian."
It should be noted, however, that Medvedev might not have been too far off in his assertions that the Melbourne crowd was prejudiced against him.
A member of the audience took to Twitter on Sunday to upload a video they took, where an individual can clearly be heard yelling "Back to Russia" as Nadal served from the far end of the court.
The delirious fan can be heard yelling the offensive phrase at the 0:11 mark in the video.
@rohancct 100% agree- lots of wankers at the game last night. https://t.co/YIoi932UlB
The Russian is next expected to compete at the Rotterdam Open, which is scheduled to kick off on 7 February. He will also play at the Acapulco Open where he will be joined by the likes of Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev.