Andy Roddick threw shade at Jelena Ostapenko while criticizing Daniil Medvedev for his US Open outburst and insisting that the Russian deserved his $42,500 fine. Medvedev and Ostapenko were both ousted in the early rounds and fans critcized them as players who could not take their losses well.
Ostapenko was invovled in a controversy with Taylor Townsend after losing to the World No. 139 in the second round. The Latvian was upset with Townsend for not apologizing after earning a let cord point.
She clashed with the American at the net after their match, where, according to Townsend, Ostapenko told her she had “no class” and “no education.” Later, the Latvian denied any racial implications while Townsend also refrained from commenting on the matter.
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Meanwhile, On Day 1 of the event, Medvedev clashed with the chair umpire Greg Allensworth. During his first round match against Benjamin Bonzi, the Russian faced a match point in the third set.
Bonzi missed his first serve but the umpire awarded him another as a cameraman untintentionally walked on to court and caused a disruption. Although Allensworth's call was according to the ATP rule book, Medvedev was distraught.
He insulted the umpire and caused a scene which led to an over seven minute delay. It worked in his favor as he managed to win the third and fourth set but lost the fifth and the match. He smashed his racket after the devastating loss.
Eventually, he was fined $42,500 ($30,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and $12,500 for racket abuse).
Speaking about it during his Quick Served podcast, Andy Roddick said (at 10:30):
"He absolutely deserved the fine. The precedent is there—if you break that much stuff, even if it’s your own, you’re going to get fined."
Further, the former American ATP star claimed Medvedev was going "mental."
"He earned the fine. He's been going mental, and it's probably not great for him. And going directly to the microphone was hilarious."
While throwing shade at Ostapenko's comments about Townsend, he added (from 12:40):
"I'm sorry, commenters, are you the fun police? Like, I don't know what you want from me. He didn't go crazy and call someone like uneducated."
Andy Roddick did not hold back in his criticism for Jelena Ostapenko after her Taylor Townsend feud at US Open
Jelena Ostapenko's feud with Taylor Townsend took the tennis world by storm. It was mostly because of what was said by the Latvian. What did not sit well with Andy Roddick was that she told Townsend that she had "no class." Roddick felt that was hypocritical and said in his Quick Served podcast:
"I like meltdowns. I melted down. So, I can't criticize someone for a meltdown, which is my point. Like, you try to not be like a complete hypocrite about things," Andy Roddick said (from 23:00).
"Ostapenko lecturing someone about class on a tennis court is like me lecturing someone about trying everything they can to stop losing their hair. Like, it literally is like heights of hypocrisy. That bothers me," he added.
Further, Roddick criticized the situation bluntly, saying it was ironic for Ostapenko to lecture others on showing respect to opponents. He suggested that if a player wanted to speak about sportsmanship, they should begin by making eye contact during handshakes.
Several tennis stars including Coco Gauff, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Naomi Osaka spoke about the controversy. Osaka criticized Ostapenko while Aryna Sabalenka sympathized with her claiming she was dealing with off-court issues.
