Daniil Medvedev and his mixed doubles partner Mirra Andreeva took part in an 'absurd' on-court interview after they beat Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic at the U.S Open.
In the build-up to Tuesday's match, Djokovic joked he would "expose" Medvedev at Queens Club, but in a surprise turn of events, the latter and his doubles partner recorded a relatively straightforward 4-2, 5-3 win after just 45 minutes of play.
Russian pair Medvedev and Andreeva would soon take part in an on-court interview with 2017 U.S. Open women's singles champion Sloane Stephens, who was on broadcast duties for ESPN.
Stephens proceeded to praise the pair for taking part in a "great match", but her lighthearted comments towards former US Open champion Medvedev have received a mostly negative reaction from fans online.
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As you can see from the footage below, the 32-year-old began the interview by saying: “Great match, you guys. Daniii, you were carried by your beautiful partner. What do you need to do for the next match to play better?"
Medvedev was quick to respond. “I think we need to play the same. Very calm," he said.
"I’m very grateful to Mirra that she doesn’t put pressure on me when I miss, and in the beginning, I was missing a lot. But then I played better and better. We were very happy to win our first match together. It was a great moment."
Here's how fans on social media reacted to the comments.
One wrote: "That was absurd. Sloane do better," while another commented: "Just imagine a male reporter saying to a female player: you were carried today by your partner. Would get absolutely hammered all over social media."
A third said: "That's a very bad interview question to ask a professional player."
A fourth wrote: "Wild that trolls are pressed over a joke question. Maybe try watching the news next time," and a fifth added: "Daniil getting absolutely carried by his partner and just owning it with that deadpan 'very calm' response."
Despite their showing in the opening round, Medvedev and Andreeva were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula.
Topics: Tennis, Novak Djokovic, US Open
Jack Kenmare