Daniil Medvedev has enjoyed silencing those who questioned his fiery temperament and wrote him off during his teenage years after a sizzling hardcourt season that has left him on the cusp of US Open glory.
The Russian secured a place in his first Grand Slam final Friday with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Grigor Dimitrov, setting Medvedev up with an instant shot at revenge for last month's Montreal loss to Rafael Nadal.
However, his path to Sunday's championship match in New York has been a rocky ride -- embraced at first by Medvedev but one he is now keen to forget as he tries to shed his image as the wacky villain.
Booed by fans after an obscene gesture in the third round, Medvedev taunted them in response by saying he thrived on their jeers for the energy to win. He later apologized and admitted it has been a long road to clean up his act.
"There were many who would say, coaches or something, at the age of 16 or 14, I could get engaged during the match because I thought they clapped on a double-fault or something. I would scream at them. They would scream at me," Medvedev recalled of his younger years.
"Many of these people would say, 'Okay, the guy is completely crazy, he's never be a good tennis player.' Which is maybe happened to some of the tennis players. I'm glad I proved them wrong.
"Talk about reactions, they were totally different. Some wanted to just help me get better. Some, as I say, said, 'OK, who is this crazy guy and what is he doing on the tennis court?' I've improved big-time. Hopefully I will improve even more."
- On-court 'demons' -
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"I will not say that I'm a kind person or a good person. I can only say I'm a really calm person in life. I actually have no idea why the demons go out when I play tennis."
"I was sitting after these matches, I was like, 'I don't want to lose these matches because I get crazy or because I lose some concentration because of the fans, because of the referees, something that happens during the match.'
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