Many consider Cristiano Ronaldo to be the greatest footballer to have ever lived.
The Portuguese star has scored the most goals of any player in history, and is still going strong at the age of 40.
Back in 2013, Ronaldo debuted a new celebration where, after scoring a goal, he would run into the corner of the pitch, leap into the air and thrust his arms by his side before shouting ‘Siuuu!’
In the seasons that followed, the celebration became iconic, and to this day, entire stadiums will shout ‘Siuuu’ with him.
In 2022, however, Ronaldo’s celebration caused a big misunderstanding in the world of tennis, and led to former world number one Daniil Medvedev saying something he would ultimately regret.
When fans did Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration at the Australian Open
At the Australian Open that year, Medvedev faced Nick Kyrgios in a thrilling second-round match, in which the Russian ultimately emerged victorious.
During their clash, and throughout most matches at the tournament, the Melbourne crowd had been shouting ‘Siuuu’, often between serves.
After Medvedev beat home hope Kyrgios, he criticised the crowd for the calls, thinking that he had been booed.
Medvedev said: “I guess some people just have a low IQ,” after writing ‘Siuuu’ on the broadcast camera lens.
His comments were met with a shower of boos from the crowd while interviewer and tennis legend Jim Courier was trying to respond.
Courier replied: “I think they are saying ‘siuuu’ which is a soccer, football, thing … I don’t think they are booing you.”
After his loss, Kyrgios said of Medvedev’s comments to the crowd: “You’ve got, like, you know, the most entertaining player playing in his home slam on Rod Laver [Arena]. You’d expect the crowd to be like that.
“I can understand it’s a gentleman’s game, but it’s about time that people embraced some sort of different energy in this sport, otherwise it will die out.”
Daniil Medvedev’s reflection on his comments a year later
At the next edition of the Australian Open in 2023, Medvedev reflected on his comments.
As per the Guardian, he said: “Out of the 13,000 who were there [at Rod Laver Arena], because the stadium was packed, this comment maybe was to 50 people max, so that’s the first thing.
“And this comment was probably not smart from my part, but when you go out from the match, the way it was with Nick, sometimes you say things like one hour after, [and you think] ‘Why did I say this?’ First of all, it’s maybe not true, then it’s stupid.”
Medvedev, who made the Australian Open final in 2022, got knocked out in the third round in 2023.
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