Alex Zverev calls out Daniil Medvedev as ‘unfair player’
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Alexander Zverev didn’t hold back about Daniil Medvedev after losing to the world No. 5 in the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday.
The German pro Zverev said Russia’s Medvedev is “one of the most unfair players in the world,” and took issue with his on-court behavior during a post-match interview with Sky Germany.
“I take fair play and sportsmanship very serious. He does not,” Zverev said, before mentioning Medvedev’s bathroom break in the third set.
“There are 1000 situations in which he feels that I start to play better and in which he tries to do something every time. I’m extremely disappointed from him as an athlete.”
Medvedev paused their match on two separate occasions.
He moved one of the net poles while down 5-4 in the second set, which prompted the umpire to leave his station and inspect the net.
The umpire did not assess Medvedev a warning because he said the pole did not break.
Meanwhile, Zverev was seen laughing amidst the delay.
Then, in the third set, Medvedev ran off the court for a bathroom break when both players were switching sides.
Zverev went on to take blame for the loss, explaining that he shouldn’t get distracted.
“Of course you argue that is not good form from me that I get distracted,” he said.
“This should not happen to me and it’s totally my fault and it really was bad from my side. But still I feel fair play should always be part of sports.”
Medvedev saved two match points on his way to a victory over Zverev 3-6 7-5 7-6(7) in the fiery match.
The Russian pro hit back at Zverev after defeating Holger Rune in straight-sets in the quarter-finals on Friday — and claimed other pros have approached him with jokes about the matter.
“Sascha is living in his own world,” Medvedev said, per Eurosport.com. “I already had like five players in the locker room coming to me and saying ‘come on, Daniil, why are you so unfair (smiling)?’”
“Sascha when he loses we can find maybe 25 interviews of him where he does say some strange things.
“Again, honestly saying like if guys like Casper [Ruud], I don’t know, Andrey [Rublev], maybe Karen [Khachanov], even Diego [Schwartzman].
“I had, let’s call it a fight with him [Schwartzman], at the ATP Cup [in 2020]. Honestly, I’m at fault and probably he still doesn’t like me the way maybe he liked me before this…
Read More: Alex Zverev calls out Daniil Medvedev as ‘unfair player’ 2023-04-14 21:14:00