By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday October 9, 2024
The relationship between Daniel Medvedev AND Stefanos Tsitsipas it was very bad from the beginning. Their first date in Miami in 2018 went viral due to their bad blood, and in the years since, it’s remained pretty cool.
But these days, thanks to some quality time spent on the same Laver Cup team, and the wisdom that comes with age, the pair are in a much better place.
Tsitsipas spoke about his feelings for the former world No.1 this week ahead of their round of 16 match in Shanghai (won by Medvedev, 7-6(3), 6-3 – highlights below ).
“I consider him someone I respect in the tournament, much more than before,” Tsitsipas said. “We’ve had some heated things on the field in the past, but I think those things have worked themselves out over time, and obviously we’ve also had time to talk about those things and have a common understanding of why they happen. these things.”
The 26-year-old Tsitsipas says it’s better to put the bad blood on the back burner. Here’s how he explains it.
“I always want to solve things like that, I don’t want to leave them,” he said. “It took a while, obviously, quite a long time, but it’s good to get that out of the way and make sure our tennis brings peace instead of a war. It’s a war zone when you’re out there on the court trying, obviously, to fight your best and obviously trying to get the win, but I think tennis should come together instead of dividing.”
Tsitsipas says he has gained a great appreciation for Medvedev’s tennis over the years and admits he hasn’t always seen the beauty of the Russian’s game.
“I think there’s a lot of things that he’s brought to the game that are, I would consider, quite unorthodox because you haven’t seen many players in the past play the way he does,” he said. . “That is, actually, after thinking about it, in the past I might have said some bad things about his game, but after actually thinking about those things, I think I was completely wrong about that.
“There are a lot of interesting things in his game that he brings that are very different from other players. I think that’s what makes him unique as a player because you don’t see players like him very often and it gives tennis another dimension in terms of how it can be played and how differently it can be created. So that’s definitely something that he’s brought to the game so far and I think a lot of generations will remember that.”
