Masters Monte-Carlo – Daniil Medvedev fights back against Alexander Zverev: “Sascha lives in his own world”

Alexander Zverev only had a cool handshake of congratulations and a short, grim look at the net for Daniil Medvedev. The man from Hamburg quickly ran to his bank, packed his things and left Court Rainier III at a fast pace. It was the freezing end of a hot duel in chilly Monte Carlo.

The round of 16 thriller at the clay court masters in the Principality late on Thursday evening, which Zverev unluckily lost 6: 3, 5: 7, 6: 7 (7: 9) despite two match balls, was followed by a verbal exchange of blows that spread a little on the court had indicated.

Shortly after the game, the Olympic champion caught up “Sky” for an all-round attack against his opponent. Medvedev was “one of the most unfair players in the world,” complained the 25-year-old, who already beat the US Open champion of 2021 in a thriller at the Masters in Indian Wells 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 7 (5: 7), was defeated 5:7.

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“I take fairness and sportsmanship very, very seriously. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any of that,” rumbled the Olympic champion. Medvedev tries “to do everything when he’s behind. He did it in Indian Wells, he did it here. As an athlete, I’m extremely disappointed.”

Medvedev strikes back

Less than 24 hours later, Medvedev launched a counterattack – and hardly left a good hair on the German number one. At the press conference after his quarter-final defeat against Holger Rune (3: 6, 4: 6), the 27-year-old shot back.

“Sascha lives in his own world,” Medvedev claimed, adding: “When he says someone isn’t playing fair, you think: Okay, great, look in the mirror.”

Instead, on Friday afternoon, he accused Zverev of reacting angrily more often after defeats. “We can find maybe 25 interviews where he says funny things when he’s lost,” Medvedev said at the press conference.

Medvedev: “Sascha is not that kind of person”

Therefore, Zverev’s statements only affect him slightly, as he put on record. “I usually feel bad when I’ve behaved unfairly on the court, because I know that sometimes I’m not fair,” Medvedev admitted – and added an example.

In 2020 at the ATP Cup he got into trouble with the Argentinian Diego Schwartzman. A dispute that Medvedev himself was to blame for, as he now admitted.

“I’m sorry that a player who is as nice and fair as Diego sees me like that,” Medvedev regretted, but used his remorse to give Zverev a dig in the same breath: “Sascha is not that kind of person.”

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Zverev upset with Medvedev

But what had Zverev so upset?

A scene that annoyed the German in Monaco occurred in the second set when the German was 5-4. Before he could serve to win the match, Medvedev removed one of the net supports and threw it onto the court.

Zverev reacted with a laugh in the direction of his box, but then lost his service and finally the set 5: 7.

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Medvedev’s short-term toilet break also annoyed the 25-year-old – but that’s not all: “There are a thousand situations where he has the feeling that I’ve started to play better and where he tries to do something every time,” Zverev complained and agreed “Sky” a devastating verdict on the fifth in the world rankings. He is one of the best players in the world, but: “He doesn’t win with tennis.”

Nevertheless, Zverev also took responsibility for himself and explained that he should not have allowed himself to be distracted. “Nevertheless, I think fairness in sport should always be a part of it,” said the Monaco resident.

Alexander Zverev failed in the round of 16 in Monte Carlo

Fotocredit: Getty Images

Medvedev refers to Mané and Sané

To a certain extent, Medvedev also showed understanding for the 25-year-old’s outburst, after all he conducted the interview with “Sky” just a few minutes after a hard defeat.

“A lot of things can happen after the match. You’re still in the heat of the moment,” he said, referring to the dispute between Bayern professionals Sadio Mané and Leroy Sané after the 3-0 defeat in the Champions League game against Manchester City .

Daniil Medvedev speaks with Alexander Zverev at the end of their match

Fotocredit: Getty Images

Therefore, Medvedev did not want to go too far with his counterattack. But if Zverev still has the same opinion in a week, it would be “a different story”.

Medvedev: “Were never close friends”

The dispute between the two top players also comes as a surprise because in recent years the public has often assumed that the two top professionals were friends.

After his triumph in the final of the ATP Finals 2021, Zverev addressed warm words to opponent Medvedev and his wife Dasha. “We’ve known each other for more than ten years. It’s great to see how far we’ve come together, so to speak,” he said at Turin’s Pala Alpitour.

In 2021 Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev met in the ATP Finals

Fotocredit: Getty Images

Is it all just a misunderstanding? Medvedev also found clear words about the personal relationship with Zverev. “We were never really close friends, at most maybe when we were young,” the Muscovite clarified: “Only he says in his congratulatory speech that he is friends with me and my wife. That has definitely not been the case for a long time.”

Zverev and Medvedev: An icy rivalry?

He himself never spoke of a friendship, as he protested. That’s also why he was “not at all” disappointed by Zverev’s frontal attack: “If he’s still saying that in a week, we can discuss what’s wrong. Maybe we’ll never talk to each other again and become enemies. But it’s affecting me at the moment barely.”

So it shouldn’t have been the last exchange of blows between the two opponents – neither on nor off the court. After his three-set success against Zverev on Thursday evening, Medvedev wrote the word “cold” on the camera lens with a lot of room for interpretation.

What could be understood both as an allusion to the frosty temperatures in the principality and to Medvedev’s nerves of steel in the round of 16 could take on a new meaning after the developments of the past day: as the beginning of an icy rivalry.

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