Medvedev says celebration was a nod to FIFA game

Daniil Medvedev’s celebration for his first major tennis title was a nod to a soccer video game.

Medvedev slowly and awkwardly fell to the court after beating Novak Djokovic in the US Open final. He said afterward he was imitating the “dead fish celebration” in a FIFA game.

The Russian said he first thought of the idea at Wimbledon. When he told other players who also play the game, they told him they thought it was “legendary.”

Medvedev says: “That’s how I wanted to make it.”

Unfortunately, he added, the celebration hurt, because the surface at the U.S. Open is not as soft as the grass of Wimbledon.

“It’s not easy to make it on hard courts,” Medvedev said. “I got hurt a little bit, but I’m happy I made it legendary for myself.”