Australian Open: Daniil Medvedev - how much will the "little cat" cost him?
With his emotional outburst after losing the second set in the semifinals of the Australian Open 2022, Daniil Medvedev turned the match against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The confrontation with the referee could still be expensive.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jan 28, 2022, 01:17 pm
If the days together at the Laver Cup in Boston melted the ice between Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas a little - after the semi-finals at the Australian Open 2022 it can be assumed that a wall has opened up between the two top players again, which also need not fear comparison with the mighty ice wall that was supposed to protect the kingdom of the north in the TV series "Game of Thrones".
In the second leading role in this unexpected sequel to the classic series, Daniil Medvedev did not appear as opponents of Stefano, but his father Apostolos Tsitsipas. Who provided his son with relevant information from the stands - in the good old way and as we have been used to from him for years. This annoyed Medvedev, especially in the final phase of the second movement, which was certainly also influenced by the fact that the majority of the audience had once again decided against him.
Medvedev takes on the chair umpire
Chair umpire Jaume Campistol initially let father Tsitsipas get away scot-free, instead warning Medvedev for an obscene gesture towards the fans. That was the last straw. "His father can talk on every point? could you answer my question Can his father speak on every point?” To which Campistol said that Apostolos could speak, but not coach. But that only made Medvedev even more angry.
"Oh my god, you're so bad man. How can you be so bad in a semi-final?” The Russian also accused Campistol of being stupid – and compared him to a little cat before going into the dressing room. Now "small cat" can also be expressed differently in English, just think of those dolls that Nicole Scherzinger once headed as lead singer. And calling a referee a "pussy," if only by the flower, could be costly for the reigning US Open champion.
Tsitsipas gets a penalty
However, the protest had an effect. Because chief referee Wayne McEwen sat near the Tsitsipas box, Eva Asderaki-Moore, a Greek referee, lent an ear to Apostolos - and signaled umpire Campistol that Tsitsipas senior could not stop coaching.
Stefanos acknowledged the resulting warning with a cynical smile. However, the momentum had already shifted towards Medvedev before this incident. The handshake after the 6: 1 between last year's finalist and Tsitsipas was correspondingly cold. After all, Medvedev audibly apologized to Jaume Campistol after his success.
Here is the men's individual tableau
laver arena