Why Do Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev Have Beef
At the Miami Open in 2018, a Russian player ranked 52nd in the world faced a young Greek player ranked 70th in the world for the first time.
At that point in their careers, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas were relative unknowns. The Russian prevailed with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win.
On paper, it was a regulation first-round clash, played in front of a handful of fans.
But on that day, almost four years ago, a rivalry which may define tennis' next generation was born.
The tension built after the pair both took lengthy toilet breaks, and Medvedev did not take kindly to Tsitsipas not apologising for winning a point after the ball hit the net cord.
After Medvedev clinched the match, the pair exchanged words at the net.
"Man, you better shut your f*** up, okay?" Medvedev said to Tsitsipas. "Hey Stefanos, you want to look at me and talk?
"You go emergency toilet for five minutes during [the third set} and then you hit let, and you don't say sorry. You think you are a good kid?
Stefanos Tsitsipas walks past Daniil Medvedev during their Australian Open semi-final clash last year. Credit:AP
"Look at me. Hey, look at me. You don't look at me?"
After the umpire intervened, Medvedev explained the source of his anger.
"He said 'Bullshit Russian'. You think that is normal?" Medvedev asked.
"He's a small kid who doesn't know how to fight. If he says something to me and wants to fight, he needs to do it."
The exchange left a lasting mark. The pair say the bare minimum about one another when they are asked about the feud, despite being Laver Cup teammates last year.
Medvedev boasts a 6-2 advantage in the head-to-head record - which includes a straight-sets win in the semi-final at last year's Australian Open - but Tsitsipas won their last clash, in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros on his way to the 2022 final.
Stefanos Tsitsipas hits the ball to Daniil Medvedev in their last clash, at the French Open in 2021. Credit:AP
On Friday night, they meet in the final four at Rod Laver Arena as very different personalities and players to the pair that clashed in such heated fashion in Miami.
Medvedev still has many on-court quirks, but he seldom allows his temper to flare like it regularly did a few years ago.
Tsitsipas now enters something close to a trance state when he's on court.
In his stunning, straight-sets win against Jannik Sinner on Wednesday, the Greek star said he was in the zone.
"I have no plans of getting out of it," he said. "It's part of my game."
Tsitsipas credits the improvement of his on-court attitude to his father and long-time coach, Apostolos.
In Australia, father-son or father-daughter relationships have rarely proved a successful recipe in the pursuit of success.
Tsitsipas told the Herald and The Age why that doesn't have to be the case.
"My relationship with my dad, it's not like we sleep in the same bed," Tsitsipas said.
"We have lived this journey together. My dad is a very strong personality, he won't stop until he succeeds. He will sacrifice, and go all the way to help me improve or get better in my career.
"That's something my dad has that I don't think many other father figures have. That's why we have worked together for so long.
"We discuss everything, and that's what makes our relationship so strong and so trustworthy and so connected, in many ways. Every single day of the week.
"We are able to understand one another better than anyone, and my father also genuinely wants to help, with no bad intentions. He will do anything for my own success or happiness or satisfaction.
"We started with a dream to make it to the big league of tennis, and now we're here.
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"We don't plan to stop. We plan to go all the way. It's the first step of our journey to conquer and create memories together."
While Tsitsipas hopes to conquer Medvedev and progress to his second career grand slam final, the memory of Miami has remained with both players ahead of another career-defining clash.
"It's fine. It kind of got better after [the] Laver Cup," he said of the Medvedev relationship.
"We haven't really spoken in the last couple of months, but our relationship is competitors on the court.
"We're fighting for the same dream."
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Source: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/miami-spice-the-heated-clash-that-sparked-medvedev-tsitsipas-rivalry-20220127-p59rqz.html
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