Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Tennis star Daniil Medvedev hit a camera and shouted at fans, asking if they were "stupid," during an eventful second-round victory over Christopher O'Connell at the 2023 U.S. Open.
Medvedev picked up the 6-2, 6-2, 6(6)-7, 6-2 triumph Thursday in Flushing, N.Y. The No. 3 men's player totaled a dozen aces and broke O'Connell's serve eight times in the 3-hour, 4-minute match.
"Tough match," Medvedev said in his on-court interview on the ESPN broadcast. "I don't know why, but one moment in the match he decided to play better. I played the same from the first ball to the last."
The Russian sprinted to a two-set lead before dropping the third to his No. 69 Aussie foe. He then used his hand to push away a camera, while he was sitting between sets.
Medvedev went on to interact with fans ahead of a serve, when the fourth set was tied 1-1. He bounced the ball, looked up at the crowd and shouted in the direction of a group of women.
"Can you shut up guys? Are you stupid or what?" Medvedev said.
One woman, who was standing in front of her seat, then blew a kiss back to Medvedev, ending the exchange. The crowd responded by booing Medvedev, who asked the chair umpire to tell them to quiet for his serve.
The Russian went on to win the next two points for a 3-1 lead. O'Connell fought back, winning the seventh, eighth and ninth games and eventually winning the tie break.
Medvedev won his first two service games of the fourth set. He then broke O'Connell in the fourth game and held again in the fifth for a 4-1 edge. He broke O'Connell again in the final game to claim the set 6-2.
Medvedev will meet No. 32 Sebastian Baez of Argentina in the third round Saturday in Flushing.
No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain advanced to the third round with a straight-sets victory over No. 177 Lloyd Harris of South Africa on Day 4.
No. 6 Jannik Sinner of Italy, No. 8 Andrey Rublev of Russia, No. 12 Alexander Zverev of Germany, No. 13 Alex de Minaur of Australia, No. 16 Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland and No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria were the other highest-ranked men's players to advance on the singles circuit.
No. 89 Michael Mmoh beat No. 157 John Isner in a match that lasted nearly four hours. Isner, who announced last month that the U.S. Open would be the final tournament of his career, fired 48 aces in the loss.
"I wanted one more U.S. Open and was able to get that," Isner said. "It was a fun match overall. Of course the result is disappointing, but I'm proud of what I've achieved in my career."
Isner, 38, totaled 489 career singles victories, but never reached a Grand Slam final. He was a Wimbledon 2018 semifinalist.
Isner, who turned professional in 2007 and reached a career-best No. 8 ranking in 2018, holds the record for the most career aces (14,470) in the history of the ATP Tour.
"Tennis has been a huge part of my life," Isner said. "It's tough to say goodbye. It's not easy. Eventually, this day would come. It's hard to prepare for the emotions of it. Most importantly, I have an amazing life. I look forward to every second of that."
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States, No. 5 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, No. 9 Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, No. 14 Daria Kasatkina of Russia, No. 15 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia and No. 17 Madison Keys of the United States were the top women to advance on Day 4.
No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, No. 4 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 6 Coco Gauff of the United States, No. 10 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic and No. 13 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland will be the top women in action on Day 5.
No. 2 Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Americans Taylor Fritz (No. 9), Frances Tiafoe (No. 10) and Tommy Paul (No. 14) are the top men's players who will compete Friday in Flushing.
U.S. Open schedule
All times EDT
Friday
Third round from noon to 6 p.m. on ESPN; 6 to 11 on ESPN2
Saturday
Third round from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on ESPN2
Sunday
Round of 16 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on ESPN; 3 to 6 p.m. on ABC; 6 to 11 p.m. on ESPN2
Monday
Round of 16 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on ESPN; 7 to 11 p.m. on ESPN2
Tuesday
Mens and women's quarterfinals from noon to 11 p.m. on ESPN
Wednesday
Mens and women's quarterfinals from noon to 11 p.m. on ESPN
Thursday
Women's semifinals from 7 to 11 p.m. on ESPN
Sept. 8
Men's semifinals from 3 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. on ESPN
Sept. 9
Women's final at 4 p.m. on ESPN
Sept. 10
Men's final at 4 p.m. on ESPN
