Oleksandr Zverev criticized Danylo Medvedev after losing in the 1/8 finals of the Masters in Monte Carlo, and the Russian’s response did not take long.

The 2018 and 2021 Champions Tour champion Zverev said after Thursday’s dramatic loss that Medvedev was “one of the most dishonest players in the world”.

Sasha missed two match points, and the German did not look at the Russian during the handshake at the end of the match.

Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, war at the Monte Carlo Masters: “Look in the mirror”

Medvedev, who won the 2020 Champions Tour, was beaten in the quarters by Rune and looked away for a moment to imitate Zverev’s handshake. Danilo also joked with Holger: “It’s not fair, you play too well, you played not fair.”

Medvedev, the former head of the ATP hierarchy, tried to explain the situation at a press conference.

“I think, to be honest, I’m very friendly with probably 90 players on the circuit. At 50, we are not the best friends in the world, but we have a very good relationship. That’s why I feel bad when something happens on the field and I’m not right, because I know I’m not always right.

Yesterday (Friday), what made him say that? Toilet break because I wanted to pee. What does he want from me? At 3-2 I have five break points. He manages to keep his job. I congratulate him. Then I win my serve to 0. I go to the bathroom and lose the next two games. Then he submits to the match and says that I’m going to the toilet so that he doesn’t play either… Sasha lives in his own world.

Five players came up to me in the dressing room and said: “Come on, Danilo, why don’t you play properly (laughs)?” Sasha, when he loses, you can find maybe 25 interviews where he says weird things.

When Diego (Schwartzman), with whom I had a fight at the ATP Cup – and frankly it was my fault – I don’t like it as much after the match as before, I’m sorry. He is such a good and honest player…

But Sasha is not such a player. Sasha is not like Diego, Kasper (Ruud), Andriy (Rublev). When he says someone is playing wrong, you think, “Okay, great.” Look in the mirror’. Let’s see, I don’t want to say too much about it because I think he was talking right at the end of the match and maybe he was talking in the heat of the moment.

We saw how (Sadio) Mane and (Leroy) Sane had an argument right after the Bayern game in the Champions League. A lot can happen after the match. Zverev lost a tough game, serving twice for the match…

If he’s saying all that in a week, I’ll go to him in the locker room and say, “Let’s talk about what’s wrong.” Maybe we’ll never talk again or be enemies or whatever.’ But for now I don’t care.

I will only say that we were never close friends, maybe only in junior high school. In his congratulatory speeches, he said that he was friends with me and my wife, which is absolutely not the case” – Daniil Medvedevquoted by L’Equipe.

Handshake of Danylo Medvedev and Oleksandr Zverev

Handshake between Daniil Medvedev and Holger Run