After a historic comeback victory against Alexander Zverev in the 2024 Australian Open semi-final, Daniil Medvedev believed they did not play well in the first set. He shared his opinion in the post-match interview despite the German winning the first set comprehensively.
Set in the backdrop of their frosty relationship following the polarising episode of Netflix’s Break Point, the semi-final was one for the ages. Zverev raced to a 2-0 set lead. At 5-4 in the third, he was one game away from securing a berth in the final. However, Medvedev staged an immense fightback to win 5-7, 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-3 after four hours and 18 minutes.
Late in the fourth set, Zverev accused Medvedev of mind games. He complained to the umpire that his opponent was putting up a ‘show’. He won a point after a long rally and prepared to serve, but the World No.3 abruptly called for a challenge. Medvedev claimed the ball crossed the line and the point should not be awarded to Zverev. The chair umpire, however, denied the challenge saying the time limit had passed. His continued protests annoyed Zverev, who said –
“He knows it was inside the line. He’s doing a show again.”
Daniil Medvedev requests to see the replay of a point
Zverev shrugs his shoulders and says:
“He knows it was inside the line. He’s doing a show again.” pic.twitter.com/rJUttsvp1z
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 26, 2024
This caused a delay of a couple minutes that seemingly worked in Medvedev’s favour as Zverev wilted. In his post-match on-court interview with Jim Courier, he trolled his opponent, saying neither of them played well in the first set. While Zverev won the opening set, Medvedev believed he did not play great tennis.
“In the first set, we both played not very good.”
Alexander Zverev, who claimed he has ‘cleared things up’ with Daniil Medvedev, is yet to react to the latter’s words. Their rivalry has become the talking point of tennis, especially after the Break Point episode which portrayed the Russian negatively. However, Medvedev will put that behind him. Jannik Sinner awaits him in the 2024 Australian Open final on Sunday, January 28. Up against a first-time finalist, this is a golden opportunity for him to bag his second Grand Slam title.
