World number three
Daniil Medvedev believes that fellow Russian
player
Victoria Azarenka was treated unfairly by the
Wimbledon crowd.
The 33-year-old was booed by the crowd at Court number
one after she did not have a handshake with Ukraine’s
Elina Svitolina after
suffering a defeat in the round of 16 clash with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 on
Sunday.
After the match, Azarenka revealed that it was not her
decision and in fact, she was respecting the decision made by her opponent who
refused to have a handshake with any Russian player because of the war in
Ukraine.
The conflict between two European neighbours started way
back in February last year and till now has resulted in the loss of human lives on both
sides.
That statement was supported by Svitolina who herself
admitted that she has no intention of having a handshake with any Russian
player until the last Russian soldier leaves Ukrainian soil.
Medvedev, who has now booked his place in the Wimbledon
quarterfinal for the first time after being awarded a walkover win against Czech
Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, while talking to the media, stated that the two-time
Grand Slam winner was treated unfairly by the crowd.
"As she said, I actually liked her [Azarenka] response
on the press conference,” he said. “She respected the decision of Svitolina,
about not shaking hands. I think the crowd that comes, Court 1 is what, maybe
10,000 people. I actually don't know.
"They're not all going to know the story behind this.
They just saw Vika not shaking hands. That's why I think they booed her. I
liked her response where she said it was a great match and let's talk about
tennis.”
The Moscow-born will now face America’s Christopher Eubanks in his first-ever
Wimbledon quarterfinal clash on Wednesday.
