UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly
Daniel Medvedev’s bid for a sixth successive ATP tournament final appearance came to a half at the hands of Holger Rune. Monte Carlo Masters continues to evade him but his inability to proceed further did not bother the Russian.
Instead, Medvedev turned his attention to Alexander Zverev, whom he ousted in the third round. Zverev aired his frustrations against the 27-year-old, whom he believes is the ‘most unfair player’ on the ATP circuit.
The German was playing in his adopted country and wanted to impress. He was denied two match points by Medvedev, who did not falter when the opportunity to forge his path forward came his way. Zverev launched a scathing attack on his vanquisher, against whom he enjoys healthy rivalry.
Alexander Zverev criticizes Daniil Medvedev: “He’s 1 of the most unfair players in the world. I take fairplay & sportsmanship very serious. He does not. He takes a toiletbreak when its not possible anymore. I’m extremely disappointed in him as an athlete.” pic.twitter.com/9Y7UMwLswr
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 14, 2023
Daniil ‘most unfair’ Medvedev
This was the fifteenth meeting between the two tennis pros. Zverev raced to a 5-1 lead but Medvedev has since titled it in his favour with the balance reading 9-6. The continued losses are taking their toll on the 25-year-old, who is not holding back in his criticism of the Russian.
“He is one of the most unfair players we have in the world,” Zverev remarked about the Miami Open champion. “He tries to do everything when he’s behind. He did it in Indian Wells, he did it here.”
“I take fairness and sportsmanship very, very seriously and unfortunately he has none of that,” Zverev added.
I mean what am I even supposed to say? 😭
This man is just at his peak of entertainment at this point
Here's a normal day in Daniil Medvedev's life on clay : pic.twitter.com/P5lVDJytAg— Did Daniil Medvedev Celebrate? (@DidMedCelebrate) April 13, 2023
“The rivalry we have is incredible. We’ve played each other so many times, but one of the reasons why Roger and Rafa were so popular and the rivalry was appreciated all over the world was because they were always fair to each other. Unfortunately, you can’t say that about him and that’s just a real shame for me as an athlete.”
Mirror mirror on the wall who is the ‘unfairest’ of them all?
Medvedev did not respond to the accusations levied on him after his come-from-behind victory but addressed them after his defeat to Holger Rune.
The ‘unfair’ tag has stuck to the 27-year-old with players reaching out to him in the dressing room and quizzing him about it. The Russian played down his antics but admitted he is not always on the right side of things. However, he believes they are not an anomaly and Zverev has been found guilty of similar actions.
“First, I do think that honestly with probably 90 players on tour I’m great friends,” he said. “So I usually feel bad when something on court happens and let’s say I’m not fair play, because I know sometimes I’m not.”
“(But Zverev) is living in his own world. I already had like five players in the locker room coming to me and saying, ‘Come on, Daniil, why are you so unfair?’,” Medvedev joked.
“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’”.
The 27-year-old rubbished claims made by Zverev and believe it will boil over. However, he admitted that he will be unfazed by it all even if there is no resolution to their growing feud between them.
“It doesn’t disappoint me at all, but again, if in one week he’s going to continue saying, well, I’m going to come to him in the locker room and say ‘let’s discuss what’s wrong’,” Medvedev responded.
“Tell me, I’m gonna tell you, and maybe we never gonna speak again and we are gonna be enemies or whatever. But at this moment I don’t care much.”
Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!
