Daniil Medvedev confronts heckler after ‘loser and nasty’ remarks as Nick Kyrgios slams ‘disgusting behaviour’

ATP Tour
Daniil Medvedev in action

Daniil Medvedev has vowed that he will continue to confront people who “mock” him after he was called a “loser” following his defeat to Nick Kyrgios at the Canadian Open.

The world No 1 went down in three sets against Kyrgios in Montreal last week and a “fan” yelled “loser” as he made his way out of the stadium. Medvedev turned around and challenged the man, but he doubled down and shouted about mutual respect.

Medvedev, though, stood his ground and several others in the crowd called on the man to apologise.

The 26-year-old has responded to the altercation ahead of his return to action the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

“I was disappointed after losing the match [against Kyrgios],” Medvedev said. “But when someone mocks me, I’ll respond.

“It would be bad to let people shout bad things at me and just keep walking. I will ask what his problem is.”

He added: “The father of the guy said something to me also – I say educate your kid. I won’t let people mock me.

“This is one of the first times it’s happened to me, it doesn’t really happen a lot. On social media [criticism and insults] are a bit out of control.”

He also spoke about it in Russian and quotes translated by fan account @dmedvedevfans, he said: “It doesn’t matter, after the match, during the tournament, on the street or at home – if someone laughs at me, I will answer. I came up and asked: ‘What’s the problem? Why do you say that? Don’t do that’.

“The surrounding people asked him to apologise. But it doesn’t matter. I won’t let anyone shout nasty things at me, I won’t keep silent and I won’t pass by. His father bothered me the most. When I approached his son, he also started saying nasty things to me.

“I will raise my children differently. Bring up the child, and don’t say nasty things to me. In general, this was one of the first cases when I encountered this in real life. But the more famous you become, the higher the probability of such incidents.”

Kyrgios, meanwhile, took to Twitter to express his “disgust”.

“Disgusting behaviour ☹️ This is the best we have in the sport, fans need to show some respect,” he wrote.

Medvedev and Kyrgios will return to action at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday with the former facing Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round while Kyrgios will take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the opening round.

Daniil Medvedev Nick Kyrgios

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