Daniil Medvedev Might Skip The Video-game Celebration If He Wins A 2nd Slam Title In Australia
Daniil Medvedev's "Dead Fish" celebration at the end of the 2021 U.S. Open final stands out as among the most unusual and unexpected reactions to a major tennis championship. His slow flop to the blue court in Arthur Ashe Stadium after ending Novak Djokovic's bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam was a nod to the FIFA soccer video game , and Medvedev himself declared it "legendary."
So what does Medvedev have planned if he can manage to claim a second major trophy - perhaps as soon as at the Australian Open , where he is scheduled to play his first-round match Tuesday against Kasidit Samrej, a 20-year-old wild-card entry from Thailand who is ranked outside the top 400?
Well, the 28-year-old Russian says he certainly has given it some thought.
"But I don't have anything set up, like, 'OK, if I do it, I'm going to do this.' It comes more, I would say, in the moment, depending how the tournament goes, depending how the match goes," said Medvedev, who recently became a father for a second time and goes into Tuesday without having played a match this season. "What I can definitely say is: It's not going to be something crazy. It's not going to be as iconic as the 'Dead Fish.' It's just going to be a fun move that would be dedicated either to my friends or my family or my team."
Maybe that means this one wouldn't be inspired by his off-court interest in gaming, which extended recently to a spot in TopSpin 2K25 as a playable character, joining stars of the past such as Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, and of the present such as Coco Gauff , Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek.