Serena Williams’ Ex-Coach Stands in Favor of Daniil Medvedev’s Controversial Behavior After Crowd Aggression at French Open Shows No Sign of Termination

In a spectator-driven sport like tennis, the crowd can play a hugely significant role. When the crowd gets behind their favorite player, the momentum can quickly shift in his/her favor, making life difficult for the opponent. However, the crowd at the ongoing French Open is already making headlines for their hostile attitude towards several players. The former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev was one of the victims when he got involved in a heated exchange with the French Open crowd during his first-round match. It got the attention of the former coach of Serena Williams, Patrick Mouratoglou, as he has come out in support of the Russian in a recent tweet.

Patrick Mouratoglou bats for Daniil Medvedev after controversial behavior with French Open crowd

At a certain point during his first-round match against Seyboth Wild, Daniil Medvedev asked the chair umpire to come down and check the mark from a shot which was called in. As the umpire confirmed the initial decision, Medvedev kept on arguing, convinced that the ball had landed out. This resulted in incessant booing from the crowd directed toward the 27-year-old, to which he reacted with a controversial gesture – ordering the spectators to shut up, putting his index finger to his lips.

Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou defended Medvedev in his recent tweet. “I don’t understand why people are booing the player who asks to see a mark on clay. It becomes systematic. There is nothing wrong about it and sometimes the chair umpire will change his call after looking at it”, he wrote.

Serena Williams herself had to face the wrath of the spectators early on in her career. During the 2001 Indian Wells final against Kim Clijsters, Serena was relentlessly booed and jeered by the crowd on accusations against her father Richard Williams of manipulating matches between his daughters Venus and Serena. As a result, Serena boycotted the event for 14 years before returning in 2015.

READ MORE: Still Not Massively Popular Among Fans, Daniil Medvedev Passes Judgement on Legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – ‘How Is This Possible?’

 This is not the only display of crowd hostility at French Open 2023

There have been a number of instances already where the Parisian crowd has expressed their disgust at players. The spectators jeered Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk after she refused to shake hands with Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka at the end of their first-round encounter. Furthermore, American Taylor Fritz had to deal with some heckling from the spectators during his second-round win against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who was then the last remaining French singles competitor in this year’s Roland Garros. Fritz’s post-match interview had to be cut short due to the loud booing from the crowd.

While spectators being an active part of any match can light up the atmosphere and change the entire complexion of the game, they sometimes can get on the nerves of the players on the court. Do you think Daniil Medvedev’s actions were justified? Let us know in the comments.

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