Alexander Zverev-Daniil Medvedev spat ‘getting spicy’, but former world No 1 hopes they clear the air
Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev “don’t really like each other”, but Justine Henin feels the pair need to hold talks away from the court after their emotions boiled over at the Monte Carlo Masters.
The duo have never been the best of friends on the ATP Tour, but things went up a few notches when they clashed at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monaco on Thursday.
Medvedev won the match, but he was up to his usual antics as he played the pantomime villain and drew boos from the crowd, much to the frustration of Zverev.
After the clash, Zverev accused his opponent of playing “unfair” and that set Medvedev off as he accused the German of “living in his own world” and also told the 25-year-old to “look at yourself in the mirror”.
Seven-time Grand Slam winner Henin says the stakes are so high in tennis that players are bound to let their emotions run wild, but she hopes they will eventually sort out their differences.
“Things are getting spicy. It’s going to be interesting, everyone is talking about this thing between Zverev and Medvedev. It happened already in the 80s with other players, and it was nice,” the Belgian told Eurosport.
“These days it looks like it’s gonna be a big story, so let’s talk about that. They don’t really like each other, they proved that. They communicate with the press, the players now, will they talk together?
“I still think it’s going to be the best that they talk together and bring back from the past. But maybe they like it, so maybe it’s the reason.
“I don’t think it was unfair but we know Daniil admits he’s human, sometimes he’s not perfect. He talked about Diego Schwartzman, I think it’s more [serious] with Zverev. Daniil sometimes can get frustrated, upset, and we don’t understand. He’s original, it’s how he expresses his feelings. I don’t want to blame him, it’s not that bad. Him as a player, his personality. Let them talk together.”
Medvedev has made no secret of the fact that he is not a fan of his “immature” antics as he feels it distracts him on court, but Zverev has also been in trouble for his on-court behaviour as last year he was withdrawn from the Mexican Open for verbally abusing the chair umpire and smashing his racket against the official’s chair.
Henin added: “Every player, if we look at our past, we haven’t been perfect. We try, but with emotions, some go a little bit further than the others. Zverev last year: Terrible reaction on the court.
“Medvedev with the umpire last year wasn’t that good. The pressure is high, social media, the press, everything is going to be all over the world. It brings more pressure for the players. It’s not an excuse but it’s an explanation.”
READ MORE: Daniil Medvedev not a fan of his own ‘immature’ antics – ‘I don’t want to be remembered for my tantrums’
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