Daniil Medvedev on 'rows' with Alexander Zverev: 'It's forgotten' at 2024 Laver Cup
The Laver Cup is the event in which rivals become teammates. But what about the complicated history between Alexander Zverev & Daniil Medvedev?
"He's one of the most unfair players in the world," or “I'm extremely disappointed in him as an athlete." Just two previous quotes from Alexander Zverev about his tour colleague Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev also dryly retorted these barbs to the press: "He should look in the mirror!" It was one of the conversations that flared up between the top ten players in 2023 at the Masters tournament in Monte Carlo. Now, they are both sharing the bench at the Laver Cup in Berlin, where they are competing for the same team: Team Europe, captained by Bjorn Borg.
Zverev and Medvedev are sitting alongside other pros including Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud.
"Normally, we always meet in the final rounds of a tournament and give everything to beat each other. Now, we're here as a team with one goal: to win the Laver Cup," Zverev said before the tournament.
Daniil Medvedev: "We support each other more than ever before!"
How are Zverev and Medvedev dealing with the situation of having to spend almost the whole day together? Are they trying to avoid each other? Or are they becoming friends?
When asked about his arguments with Zverev, but also with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Medvedev commented on the situation: "I don't find it difficult to support the others," said the 28-year-old.
"In the past, we played a few matches, there were arguments and someone said something about it in press conferences. And that's fine. But a month later, it's forgotten."
Coaching is not my thing. I prefer to watch and observe!
However, Medvedev had received the greatest support from Grigor Dimitrov, who regularly made his way to the players' bench during the first singles match between Medvedev and Frances Tiafoe on Saturday.
"We talked about where I could serve because Tiafoe read my serve quite well," Medvedev admitted after his loss. "Even though I lost the match, I still want to discuss it sometimes afterwards. That's what we did."
He himself, on the other hand, held back as a coach in the matches of Zverev & co.
"That's not really my thing," he said. "I prefer to watch and observe."
So the roles in Team Europe seem to be clearly defined. It's true that Zverev and Medvedev are 8-4 behind with their team after the second day of play. But they can make up for this deficit on Sunday with the mutual respect and support they have for each individual team member–because all their differences seem to have been resolved.