Daniil Medvedev mocks Alexander Zverev during Holger Rune handshake
Daniil Medvedev mocked Alexander Zverev's accusations of him being an unfair player during his net exchange with Holger Rune at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Medvedev saved two match points to down Zverev, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(7) during their third-round clash in Monte Carlo. The Russian also showcased his typical on-court antics during the contest, which included shushing the crowd and removing the net post right before Zverev served for the match in the second set.
Following the loss, Zverev accused the World No. 5 of being "one of the most unfair players in the world."
“He is one of the most unfair players in the world. I take fairplay and sportsmanship very seriously. He does not. He takes a toilet-break when it’s not possible anymore,” the former World No. 2 said as per Sky, as translated by Jannik Schneider.
Medvedev made light of Zverev's claims while exchanging handshakes with Holger Rune after the Dane defeated him 6-3, 6-4. During their net exchange, Medvedev joked that Rune had played "unfairly."
"You played so good! You played unfair," Medvedev said.
🏻‘You played so good! You played unfair!’ 🤣
Meddy’s reference to Zverev’s interview is the best 👏🏻 https://t.co/YrZhtOSjjI
Daniil Medvedev refutes Alexander Zverev's claims of German's closeness with him and his wife
During the press conference following his loss to Holger Rune, Daniil Medvedev was asked to comment on Alexander Zverev's criticism of him. The reporter posing the question even stated that Medvedev was presumed to be friends with Zverev.
But Medvedev denied the existence of any such friendship with Zverev apart from the time they played junior tennis. The former World No. 1 claimed that while Zverev had made statements in his congratulatory speeches about being friends with Medvedev and his wife, the truth was something else.
"I'm not going to go too much into details. Just gonna say 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," Medvedev said.
The 27-year-old added that although Zverev's remarks did not disappoint him too much, he would speak with him privately in the locker room if the German continued to hold the same stance after a week.
"So, yeah, it doesn't disappoint me at all, but again, if in one week he's going to continue saying, 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 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," he added.
Daniil Medvedev will compete at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open next. Alexander Zverev, meanwhile, will take part in the ATP 250 BMW Open in Munich, Germany.