Daniil Medvedev ended Sebastian Baez’s 12-match winning streak in the early hours of Sunday in the Arthur Ashe Stadium as he beat the Argentine 6-2, 6-1 7-6(6) in another post 1am finish to move into the fourth round of the 2023 US Open. It will be a fifth consecutive appearance in the pre-quarters in New York where he had won his maiden Grand Slam back in 2021. But the unmissable part from the proceedings was not from the intense third-round clash, but was from the post-match interaction where Medvedev gave 2019 vibes.
Remember 2019, when Medvedev had a whole lot of content for the electric US Open crowd? It started right after his infamous middle-finger gesture at the umpire during one of his early round matches, but eventually ended with the runner-up sending a heartwarming message to the crowd after his loss to Rafael Nadal in the final.
On Sunday, after beating Baez, the presenter on court asked him about the fans that stayed back till 1:30am to watch his match and Medvedev, while thanks the crowd, delivered an unfiltered dig at one of the spectators who had troubled him during the match.
“Thanks to all the guys who don’t shout between 1st & 2nd serve. There’s 1 guy, I don’t know if he has a wife. I don’t know how she’ll sleep because he’s so pumped up he’s gonna end the night saying ‘vamo!’ nonstop. I feel sorry for him,” he said.
The presenter was left in splits as she said, “You are a piece of work, Medvedev”, while the commentators were heard laughing as well.
Watch the video here…
The former World No. 1 will now aim to end his two-match losing streak against Alex de Minaur, against whom he has a 4-2 record on the tour. Medvedev has been in a decent form in the North American hardcourt swing. He was 3-2 in the two Masters event, in Montreal and Cincinnati, where was defeated by Hungary’s Attila Balazs 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 in the first round and Christopher O’Connell 6-2, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-2 in the second round. He however still stands atop among hard-court titles won since 2018 with 18 trophies to his name in 27 finals.
