"He Plays Like This Every Match, Life Can Be Good. Money, Girls, Casino." - Daniil Medvedev With Some Sound Life Advice For His Opponent Kasidit Samrej, Who Nearly Handed Him One Of The Biggest Upsets In Tennis History
Last night at the Aussie Open featured your typical Daniil Medvedev performance both on and off the court. The Russian somehow found himself in a dog fight against the lowest ranked player in the tournament Kasidit Samrej. This guy struggles to win matches on the Challenger Tour, frequently losing to guys ranked in the 500s, yet there he was up two sets to one on a three time finalist at this venue. Bonkers.
Med's body language to his team during his struggles was perfect.
His bad play boiled over into an epic racket smash at the net, breaking the camera that's placed there.
Alternate animation angle that is being broadcasted on YouTube for some reason. Tremendous.
Eventually Medvedev's superior fitness and ability overcame whatever the hell happened during the 2nd and 3rd sets, leading to his comeback win. Seemed letting all that anger out on the net allowed him to reset a bit.
After the match Daniil was entertaining as always, pretty much admitting everything he saw about Samrej on tape showed he stunk and that this level was not there. Honest and hilarious.
I feel like if an unknown name had a monster game in a big four sport you'd get opponents just praising their efforts and being fully respectful. Let's say someone like Duke Ellis went 3 for 3 with 3 homers against Paul Skenes, I don't think Paul would go up to reporters and be like "where the fuck did that come from?" Medvedev is out here just calling it how he sees it. I appreciate that kind of interview rather than the cookie cutter bullshit.
Advertisement
That's why Daniil is one of the best personalities on tour. That's a man who just revealed he's not playing pre-AO tournaments moving forward so he can spend the holidays with his kids. Turns right around and says money, girls, and casino await this underdog if he can play more consistent good tennis. Fatherly advice if you will. Keep playing like this Kasidit and the world is your oyster.