Daniil Medvedev vows to exact revenge on rude fans in next life as tennis spectator

THE BREAK: Medvedev mixed it up with fans on Louis Armstrong Stadium earlier in the tournament.

NEW YORK—If you’re planning to make a ruckus at the US Open decade or two from now, pray you don’t get sat next to Daniil Medvedev, who promises to show no mercy in his next life as a spectator.

“I can tell you,” laughs the 2021 champion after an epic win over defending champ Carlos Alcaraz, “if after my career I'm somewhere at a tennis match and someone does it, I'm going to be like, ‘It's him, this guy, these guys should be out of the tournament.’ I'm not even going to watch the match. I'm going to be like, ‘It's him who did it. Kick him out!’”

Medvedev steeled himself through a raucous finale to his four-set upset of Alcaraz, whom Arthur Ashe Stadium was attempting to will to a break as Medvedev tried to serve out the match.

“1000 Spanish guys at 5-3 started screaming between first and second serves,” Medvedev explained during his on-court interview. “That’s not so nice, but I guess they were desperate, and I’m happy it didn’t help them. They can go to sleep now!”

This wouldn’t be the first time Medvedev, who otherwise praised the crowd for “feeling the love” towards both played, called out unruly behavior from the US Open crowd. The former No. 1 mocked one overly-enthusiastic fan after his win over Sebastian Baez and telling asking another fan if they were stupid for moving around despite it not being a changeover.

And that’s just this year: few have forgotten his iconically passive-aggressive appreciation for the crowd en route to making the final in 2019, though he later apologized after finishing runner-up to Rafael Nadal.

But despite the back-and-forths, the high-ranking gamer-turned-tennis player has become a cult favorite for his humorously-packaged complaints, becoming a catchphrase machine through a resurgent season that has him in position to win a second major title.

“I feel like honestly every time I go on Ashe right now, I feel like the crowd is there for me,” he said earlier in the tournament. “I honestly feel like New York loves me and that's very rare that I say something like this about the city!”

Will the crowd try to make amends towards Medvedev during his Sunday final against Novak Djokovic?