Both Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev have delivered some all-time U.S. Open moments.
Some of them have been great, of course. Djokovic is a three-time champion in New York, with all of those titles coming in various stages of drama. He also used to treat the American crowd to comical player impersonations. Medvedev is a two-time finalist, with a runner-up performance in 2019 and a title–at Djokovic’s expense–in 2021.
But they have also made headlines for the wrong reasons.
Although it was a long time ago, no tennis fan can forget Djokovic’s run-in with Andy Roddick at the 2008 U.S. Open. Prior to their quarterfinal match, Roddick infamously called out the Serb for faking injuries. After beating the American, the Serb addressed Roddick and his fans in a contentious post-match interview.
Fast forward 15 years and Djokovic let a 20-year-old American, Ben Shelton, and the pro-Shelton crowd get under his skin during Friday’s semifinal victory. The 36-year-old proceeded to mock Shelton’s dialed-in celebration on his way to the net for a frosty handshake.
As for Medvedev, his run to the 2019 title featured one of the most memorable on-court interviews in tennis history. It came after he beat Feliciano Lopez in the third round.
Medvedev actually managed to get the fans on his side later in the 2019 tournament with an amazing effort against Rafael Nadal in a thrilling, five-set final. Afterward he gave a hilarious runner-up speech that had basically the entirety of what had once been a hostile crowd firmly on Team Medvedev moving forward.
The Russian has been mostly incident-free in NYC since then, but he has never been one to shy away from chastising fans clapping and/or being generally disruptive in between first and second serves. It continues to be a love-hate relationship between Medvedev and the U.S. Open fans. With Djokovic it’s not hate, but it’s also far from love like it was (and in Nadal’s case still is) with Nadal and Roger Federer.
So, who will the crowd root for on Sunday? Maybe both and neither all at the same time.
who ya got?
What is all this phone business? I haven’t had any tennis coverage so missed all this.
I don’t like Shelton and it looks like Novak Feels the same. Really putting the boot in.
Don’t worry, justice will be served today.
Due to his long victorious career, the Serb has more fans around the world than Medvedev. Furthermore, antipathy towards Russians in the West increased with the advent of the war in Ukraine. These two facts combined are more relevant than the gesture of the phone call and the distant episode with Roddick, which few people remember.
Therefore, the Serb will have more support from the audience.