"Stefanos Tsitsipas & I have completely normal, respectful relations": Daniil Medvedev on his 'positive' equation with Greek after resolving past feud
Daniil Medvedev has opened up on his present-day relationship with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Medvedev and Tsitsipas' first match on the ATP Tour came in the first-round of the 2018 Miami Open. At the time, the Russian was 22 years old, while the Greek was only 19. Medvedev won the match and sealed his place in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. However, their post-match exchange was controversial, and marked the beginning of a bitter feud.
Tsitsipas' "bulls**t Russian" comment at the net deeply offended Medvedev, who launched a tirade directed at the Greek. The Russian also took offense with Tsitsipas' lengthy toilet break and the Greek's lack of apology after hitting the net cord during a point.
Later in 2018, after Medvedev got the better of Tsitsipas at the US Open, he revealed that the latter blocked him on Instagram. However, he also said that the Greek had congratulated him on his win.
Medvedev was recently asked about his relationship with Tsitsipas and the Russian responded by saying that he was not close friends with the Greek like he is with fellow Russian players Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov and Roman Safiullin. However, he said that his relationship with Tsitsipas at present was one of respect and normalcy.
"In tennis, in general, being very close friends with someone is difficult. You need to know each other for a long time, have common interests - like Andrey (Rublev), Karen (Khachanov) and Roman (Safiullin) . It seems to me that now we (himself and Tsitsipas) have completely normal, respectful relations," Daniil Medvedev told Sport-Express Russia.
However, despite his admission, Medvedev said that there still may be controversial moments featuring himself and the Greek on the court. The World No. 4 concluded his answer on an optimistic note though, saying that he and Tsitsipas 'respected each other as athletes'.
"Who knows, maybe there will be some more controversy on the court. But, in my opinion, everything developed only in a positive direction for us. Now we respect each other as athletes and treat each other completely calmly," Medvedev added.
Stefanos Tsitsipas practiced with Daniil Medvedev at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev came together for a practice session during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells a few weeks back. During an interview with Tennis Channel after his second-round victory against Lucas Pouille, Tsitsipas was asked about his decision to hit with Medvedev despite their past controversies.
The Greek said that the 2018 Miami Open altercation was a thing of the past and he had moved on.
"Well, it's a long history. I mean, whatever happened, how many years ago was that? 10 years ago? It was a long time ago. I guess people still expect some sort of a controversy or hatred between us two, but this has been long gone, and not something I focus too much on these days actually," Tsitsipas said.
Both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev are eyeing glory at the ongoing Monte-Carlo Masters right now. The Greek won his first-round match after opponent Laslo Djere retired midway through the second set. Medvedev, having received a first-round bye, will start his campaign in the second round against the winner of the match between wild card Gael Monfils and Jordan Thompson.