Attitude problem will hold back pantomime villain Daniil Medvedev

If a pantomime villain is bombarded with boos from the audience at the end of their performance, they have done their job.

But it is worth remembering that hidden behind those hisses from the crowd is an element of adoration for the actor and a sense that spectators love to hate them.

In the case of Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open, though, he was a villain who received no applause from a crowd genuinely hungry for his demise.

In the men's singles final on Sunday, the crowd's backing of Rafael Nadal, who was chasing a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title, was understandable.

At first glance, though, the crowd's incessant jeering of his opponent Medvedev may have seemed unnecessarily harsh and hostile to the unobservant.

However, peeling back the layers of his Australian Open campaign, it is clear it was something the 25-year-old from Moscow had only brought on himself.

Medvedev's first notable eruption of emotion in the tournament came in the fourth round against serve-and-volley specialist Maxime Cressy.

The Russian labelled the American's style of play as "so boring" and was exceptionally vocal on court, claiming it was the "most unlucky day" of his life. He was petulant, moaning like a child being denied a bag of sweets by their parents.

With the ever-divisive Novak Djokovic absent from this year's first Grand Slam, the crowds needed a new villain to wind up and Medvedev initially embraced the role with open arms.

He went on to hit boiling point in his semi-final clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas, rightfully questioning the possibility of the Greek receiving on-court coaching and urging the umpire to issue a code violation.

But after his plea was ignored and he was later hit with a violation himself for 'visible obscenity', Medvedev lost it.

He unleashed a fusillade of insults at umpire Jaume Campistol, who he called a "small cat", and was hit with a £9,000 fine after the match following the comments.

Despite the distractions, Medvedev managed to see out the game 7-6 4-6 6-4 6-1 but his reputation was in tatters.

After the match, the composed Tsitsipas said his opponent was "not the most mature person anyway" and as Medvedev prepared for a final with hero figure Nadal, it was obvious who the crowd would be supporting.

Initially, Medvedev did not let that get him down, racing into a two-set lead at the Rod Laver Arena and closing in on a piece of history of his own.

Winning the title in Melbourne would have meant he would have become the first ever men's player to win his first two Grand Slam titles back to back after he rose to the top at last year's US Open.

But at the conclusion of an explosive 84-minute second set, Medvedev taunted the crowd at a time when he would have been better off keeping his head down, rather than acting like victory was already in the bag.

Then, only a handful of games away from taking the decisive set, Medvedev again lost focus.

On the cusp of a huge win in his career, Medvedev found himself moaning to the umpire once again, this time about the distribution patterns from the ball boys and ball girls, allowing a trivial aspect of the game to devour his attention.

In the Melbourne final, Medvedev hit more aces, more winners and won more points than Nadal. But for those monitoring only the on-court mentalities of both players, it was easy to pick the winner.

We are more aware than ever of the mental-health difficulties facing sports stars and tennis players in particular and watching the occasion get to Medvedev was just uncomfortable.

Speaking to the umpire about the crowd, he said: "They're idiots. Empty brains... their lives must be very bad."

This was not comical, nor was it the pulse-raising display of emotion we love to see in sport. Instead, this was a sad snapshot of an athlete struggling to come to terms with the realisation that he is largely unpopular and may always be.

After congratulating classy opponent Nadal on his triumph, Medvedev took little time to reference the crowd in his post-match comments.

He claimed his childhood dreams of Grand Slam glory were dying and he could not envisage himself playing beyond the age of 30.

He added that he may even ditch the French Open and Wimbledon in favour of hard-court events in Moscow later this year, feeling as though he will not receive support in tournaments outside of Russia.

It is a fair prediction to make but this encapsulates the bottom line of it all.

Regardless of whether or not you approve of Medvedev's antics - John McEnroe unsurprisingly said he loves to see the Russian's displays of emotion - an attitude problem is clearly holding back a player more than capable of dominating men's tennis for years to come.

This is something Medvedev himself acknowledges, recently saying: "I don't think bad emotions help me too much - many times I lose a match because of this because you lose too much energy."

He ultimately lost Sunday's contest with Nadal due to an attitude problem.

And while sport needs villains and Medvedev seems to fit the bill, let's hope for his sake that when the curtain comes down on his career, it is not one full of missed opportunities.

Manchester City's January signing of Julian Alvarez was a masterstroke

The signings of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Guimaraes headlined transfer deadline day in the Premier League but there is one superb piece of business which should not slip under the radar.

Impressively, Manchester City have managed to dominate the English top flight this season without a recognised out-and-out striker playing each week.

But there will come a time when they could regret not having a talent like Sergio Aguero primed and ready to finish off their free-flowing moves.

In new signing Julian Alvarez, though, they may have their next star.

There is every chance the Argentinian could match or, dare I say, exceed the potential of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. He is that good.

A Copa America winner with his country, the 22-year-old's figures are decent - he has netted 36 goals and laid on 25 assists in 96 appearances for River Plate, where he will stay on loan for the rest of the season.

But it his quick turn of pace, his ability to play across the entire frontline and the set of skilful flicks and tricks at his disposal which will make him one of the league's great entertainers.

Described as "practically irreplaceable" by River Plate boss Marcelo Gallardo, Alvarez may take time to adjust to the Premier League, but he should flourish under Pep Guardiola's guidance, and at £14m, he represents the best piece of business carried out in the entire transfer window.

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