Daniil Medvedev attacks Zverev as Russian ready for locker room row

Daniil Medvedev wasn’t pulling any punches as he responded to Alexander Zverev following their late-night clash in Monte Carlo. After blowing two match points, the German slammed the world No 5 and claimed he was “one of the most unfair” players on tour. Medvedev has responded by launching an attack on the 25-year-old, promising a locker room confrontation if Zverev continues to make the same claims.

Medvedev hit back at Zverev after the world No 16 slammed him for running to the toilet during a changeover in their third-round match. The world No 5 went on to win 3-6 7-5 7-6(7) after saving two match points and the 25-year-old later told Sky Sports Germany: “I take fair play and sportsmanship very serious. He does not.”

Despite losing his quarter-final to Holger Rune, the 27-year-old didn’t hold back as he lashed out at Zverev in response to the German’s comments and admitted he would confront his rival if Zverev continued to make similar claims. “First, I do think that honestly with probably 90 players on tour I’m great friends. With maybe 50 it’s not like best friends but really great relationship,” Medvedev clarified.

“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 he disagreed with Zverev on this occasion as he called his opponent out. “Sascha is living in his own world,” he stated.

Comparing the former world No 2 to other players – including Diego Schwartzman, who he previously had an altercation with – Medvedev continued: “Yeah, 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, I don’t know, Andrey, maybe Karen, even Diego, so I had let’s call it a fight with him in ATP Cup, honestly, I’m at fault, and probably he still like doesn’t like me the way maybe he liked me before this match. And I’m sorry that a guy like Diego, who’s so kind and so fair play, feels like this about me.

“Sascha is not this guy. Sascha is not like Casper, he’s not like Diego, he’s not like Andrey. When he says someone is not fair play, you’re like, ‘Okay, great. Look at yourself in the mirror.'” Medvedev then conceded that Zverev could have been speaking in the heat of the moment, but still clarified that they weren’t friends.

“In the heat of the moment. If he says the same in one week, different story. If he changes his mind, different story. I can understand,” the recent Miami Open winner explained. “After the match, heat of the moment, he lost a tough one. He was serving.”

“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,” Medvedev claimed. “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.”

The former world No 1 also refuted any suggestions that his brief trip to the bathroom affected Zverev during Thursday’s match, as he made it to the toilet and back during the changeover time after checking with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes. “Yesterday what the thing, with the stick, made him say this?” he first asked, referencing a moment in which he removed a pole from the net in frustration.

“Toilet, well, I wanted to pee. What does he want me to do? And let’s take it step by step. So 2-All — no, 3-2 I have like five break points or whatever. He manages to hold. Congrats. Then I make the game 40-Love for me. I go to the toilet, I lose next two games, he’s serving for the match, and he’s saying I’m going to the toilet to make him play worse.”