Never slow to speak his mind, Daniil Medvedev has hit back after Alexander Zverev accused him of being “one of the most unfair players in the world”.
Zverev, ranked 16th in the world as he continues his comeback from ankle surgery, made the remarks after missing two match points late in a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9-7) defeat to Medvedev in the last-16 of the Monte Carlo Masters.
The German seemed particularly aggrieved that Medvedev took a bathroom break as the players changed ends at 4-3 in the deciding set, complaining of poor sportsmanship on the Russian’s part. Medvedev had already used the one break allowed under ATP rules, but sought permission from the chair umpire, Carlos Bernardes, before leaving the court, and returned just as the official called time.
“He is one of the most unfair players in the world,” Zverev later told Sky Sports Germany. “I take fair play and sportsmanship very seriously. He does not.
“He takes a toilet break when it is not possible any more. There are a thousand situations in which he feels that I start to play better, and he tries to do something every time. I’m extremely disappointed by him as an athlete.”
While Zverev did not specifically mention any other moments, a minor flashpoint occurred at 5-5 in the second set, when Medvedev, not for the first time this week, was heckled by the crowd as he asked Bernardes to clarify a call. “When they calm down, I’ll come back to play,” he told the Brazilian, striding towards his chair before Bernardes urged him to return to the fray. There was also a bizarre moment as the preceding change of ends, when Medvedev marched up to the net, uprooted a singles post, and casually discarded it. It was a typically quirky moment from Medvedev, and even Zverev seemed to see the funny side, casting a smile in the direction of his team.
Things took a more serious turn, though, when Medvedev was asked to address Zverev’s post-match comments after his straight-sets defeat to Holger Rune on Friday.
“What, the thing with the stick made him say this? Toilet? Well, I wanted to pee. What does he want me to do? And let’s take it step by step.
“I go to the toilet, I lose the next two games, he’s serving for the match, and he’s saying I’m going to the toilet to make him play worse.
“Sascha is living in his own world. I already had like five players in the locker room coming to me and [jokingly] saying, ‘Come on, Daniil, why are you so unfair?’
“Sascha, when he loses, we can find maybe 25 interviews of him where he does say some strange things.
“When he says someone is not fair play, you’re like, ‘OK, great. Look at yourself in the mirror.’”
Zverev was disqualified from a tournament in Acapulco last year after repeatedly smashing his racket into the umpire’s chair during a foul-mouth tirade at the official. The 25-year-old escaped suspension but received a suspended eight-week ban following an ATP disciplinary review.
Medvedev conceded that Zverev may have reacted “in the heat of the moment”, but said he would have no compunction about confronting the German in the locker room if the remarks were reiterated.
“I can understand,” said Medvedev. “After the match, heat of the moment, he lost a tough one.
“We were never really close friends, maybe only in juniors. That’s only him, in his congratulations speeches, saying something like he was friends with me and my wife, which is definitely not the case since long time. I never said this.
“It doesn’t disappoint me at all, but again, if in one week he’s going to continue saying [the same things], well, I’m going to going to come to him in the locker room and say, ‘Let’s discuss what’s wrong. Tell me, I’m going to tell you, and maybe we never going to speak again and we are going to be enemies or whatever.’
“But at this moment, I don’t care much.”