Daniil Medvedev slams ‘low I.Q.’ crowd at Australian Open as ‘siuuu’ chants annoy players

Daniil Medvedev, the world’s No. 2 ranked tennis player, played Aussie native Nick Kyrgios in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday, and he, like so many others who have played since since the tournament started on Monday, quickly became annoyed and angry at what the crowd was chanting. 

The Aussie Open crowd, known for being one of the wildest in all of tennis, has started using Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous “siuuu” celebration cry during matches. It’s baffled and frustrated numerous tennis players, because to the untrained ear, they sound exactly like boos. Medvedev, who has never shied away from playing the villain role with any tennis spectators, thought he heard fans booing between his first and second serve, scolded the crowd after he defeated Kyrgios.

The crowd also yelled “siuuu” while Jim Courier was trying to interview him on the court, leading Medvedev to ask the crowd to “show some respect” for Courier. Later, Medvedev had even harsher comments when he spoke to Eurosport.

“It’s not everybody who’s doing it,” Medvedev said, “but those who are doing it probably have a low IQ.”

Medvedev isn’t the only one to complain. Andy Murray thought the crowd was booing him, and called the sound “incredibly irritating” and “painful.” Liam Broady, the player Kyrgios beat in the first round, said the experience during the match was “absolutely awful.” After his win over Broady, Kyrgios also commented on the crowd’s chants. 

Since the crowd continued to do the chant on Thursday, they obviously weren’t deterred by Kyrgios’ disapproval.