Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev faced off in a heated clash at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters and it didn't end well.
After more than three hours, Medvedev emerged victorious, but he was close to losing on multiple occasions. When Zverev was serving for the match for the first time in the second set, the Russian removed a net post and left his opponent in disbelief. After that, Medvedev broke Zverev's serve and started his comeback.
After the match, the handshake between the two was very cold as Zverev wasn't in the mood to talk to his opponent and quickly stormed off the Court Rainier III. But that wasn't all, as per Jannik Schneider, Zverev talked to Sky afterward and slammed his opponent, saying:
"He is one of the most unfair players in the world. I take fairplay and sportsmanship very serious. He does not. He takes a toilet break when it's not possible anymore."
While talking about the Russian, Zverev mentioned a toilet break, which Medvedev took during the changeover at 4-3 in the third set. However, he didn't really take a toilet break as he used the changeover to leave the court and returned within the given period of time, not distracting his opponent in any way.
Same thing was done by Novak Djokovic earlier this year and no one even thought about it as unsportsmanlike. However, the German didn't mention only the toilet break but said that it happens on more occasions.
"There are 1000 situations in which he feels that I start to play better and in which he tries to do something every time. I'm extremely disappointed from him as an athlete."
Zverev is also aware of the fact that blaming his opponent for being distracted isn't the right thing, as it's mostly about his own form, but he still believes that all athletes should try to be as fair as possible when competing.
"Of course, you can argue that it's not good form from me that I get distracted. This should not happen to me and it's totally my fault and it really was bad from my side. But still, I feel fairplay should always be part of sports."
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