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'Sad and pathetic': Aus Open fans ripped over Daniil Medvedev boos

Daniil Medvedev was greeted by a chorus of boos when he entered Rod Laver Arena for the Australian Open final. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Daniil Medvedev was greeted by a chorus of boos when he entered Rod Laver Arena for the Australian Open final. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

World No.2 Daniil Medvedev was greeted by a chorus of boos from fans attending his Australian Open final against Rafael Nadal on Sunday evening.

Some tennis fans were less than impressed by the reception Medvedev received as he walked out onto Rod Laver Arena.

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Nadal was greeted with cheers by the crowd, with Medvedev's love-hate relationship with Australian fans on full display as he looked to earn his second grand slam title.

The reception from fans at the arena made it clear who the crowd would be rooting for throughout the match, with Medvedev getting a minimal amount of applause on winning points early in the match.

His hostile greeting left some fans taking exception on social media.

Medvedev though, has embraced the somewhat combative nature of his relationship with the Australian crowd throughout the tournament.

Heavily booed after defeating Nick Kyrgios in the second round, Medvedev implored the crowd to give host Jim Courier a chance to speak when it came time for him to be interviewed on court, with the popular host being frequently interrupted.

Courier attempted to repay the favour to Medvedev later in the tournament, throwing him some easy questions about Ash Barty's then upcoming singles final to help Medvedev win over a few fans.

The Russian didn't oblige however, and later snuck a cheeky dig at the crowd when he said he asked himself 'what would Novak Djokovic do?' when he was two sets down in his quarter final.

On social media, some fans felt the crowd could have shown a little more grace to Medvedev.

Daniil Medvedev on fire early in Australian Open final

Medvedev took the lead in the Australian Open final after a dramatic second set that was interrupted by a court invader and contained four service breaks.

Nadal was trying to serve for the set in the ninth game about 1 1/2 hours into the match and was facing a break point when a protester jumped from the stands into the playing arena at Medvedev’s end.

Security quickly surrounded both players and detained the protester, who was carrying a banner printed with the words: “Abolish Refugee Detention.”

Security, pictured here surrounding Daniil Medvedev after a protester jumped onto Rod Laver Arena during the Australian Open final.
Security surround Daniil Medvedev after a protester jumped onto Rod Laver Arena during the Australian Open final. (Photo by James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

Nadal saved that point to get back to deuce, wasted a set point and then dropped the service game to allow Medvedev back into the set.

The US Open champion clinched it on his first set point, on Nadal's serve, with a backhand passing shot and then waved both arms up for the crowd seeking some support.

However he couldn't complete the victory as Nadal produced one of the all-time comebacks, winning 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5 in a five-hour epic.

With Associated Press

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