Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev are competing for the same dream: winning the Australian Open title. Stefanos and Daniil will face off in the semifinals in Melbourne. Their relationship has been through some rocky moments, even if their parents are friends.
MIAMI – “The bullshit Russian and the small kids”
It is well-known that Stefanos and Daniil had a nasty squabble in Miami in 2018. Tsitsipas was winning in the first round before Medvedev staged a good comeback to win the encounter in 3 sets. During the match, the Russian player got upset with Tsitsipas after he failed to apologize when one of his shots hit the let. Daniil was in rage for the rest of the match and Tsitsipas was under the impression that it was a psychological tactic to get into his head.
When the couple met at the net for the handshake, Tsitsipas insulted Daniil, calling him “The bullshit Russian.” Medvedev got berserk calling him “a small kid who doesn’t know how to fight.” The umpire had to intervene to avoid the altercation becoming physical.
Medvedev goes after Tsitsipas after winning 1st Rd match at #MiamiOpen…No coins thrown however #ATP pic.twitter.com/aZX0Uf6Jxf
— John Horn (@SportsHorn) March 22, 2018
Eventually, Stefanos Tsitsipas admitted that he made a mistake and he should not have reacted in that way.
“I’d really love to talk about that situation that happened in Miami. I was playing my match. I think it was, I’m not sure, 3-2 or 4-2 in the third set, and I did hit a let during the rally that we played. Three more shots took place after that net that I hit.
I did pass him — well, I did pass him after he approached the net, and for some reason he wanted an apology from me, which I completely forgot that there was a net during that rally because I was so much focused on my game, into getting that point over, winning that point.
So he start looking at me, telling me to apologize for what I just did. It was Love-40. Triple break point for me to go back into the match. And after that, I think I didn’t win a single game. He did get into my head, and I was very frustrated that it did go this way.
He start telling me that I should apologize, that what I do is unsportsmanlike. I tried not to pay attention, because I knew that it was something that he wanted something intentional, something that he wanted to pass to me. Somehow it did affect me.
I did got pissed and said what I said, which I do regret, but at the time I was very frustrated that things happened this way.
I completely forgot about the past. I mean, our chemistry definitely isn’t the best that you can find on the tour. It just happens with people that it’s not that you can just like everyone.
It’s not that I hate him. I guess – yeah, as he said, we will not go to dinner together, so…
I respect him, for sure. That’s because he has been — he had a long way to come where he is right now. He’s a Grand Slam finalist, so that takes a lot of respect from me to him.”
Their current relationship
It is inevitable that after that episode there is an added interest from the tennis fans when Tsitsipas and Medvedev play against each other.
After Stefanos defeated Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open, he revealed that now his relationship with Daniil is good especially after playing together the Laver Cup.
Tsitsipas at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2022
At the moment ranked no.4, Stefanos has managed to achieve a compiled 6-1 record in 2022. Tsitsipas is currently competing at the Australian Open where he managed to beat Mikael Ymer 6-2 6-4 6-3, Sebastian Baez 7-61 6-75 6-3 6-4, Benoit Paire 6-3 7-5 6-72 6-4, Taylor Harry Fritz 4-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4 and Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-4 6-2.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on the world no.2 Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal. Their current head to head is 6-2 for Medvedev.
The Greek won 7 titles in his career: 3 on clay courts and 4 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Medvedev at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2022
Now ranked no.2 (career-high), Daniil has managed to achieve a compiled 8-1 match record in 2022. Medvedev is participating at the Australian Open where he ousted Henri Laaksonen 6-1 6-4 7-63, Nick Kyrgios 7-61 6-4 4-6 6-2, Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-4 6-4 6-2, Maxime Cressy 6-2 7-64 6-74 7-5 and Felix Auger Aliassime 6-74 3-6 7-62 7-5 6-4.
Daniil Medvedev will fight against the world no.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal. Their current head to head is 6-2 for Medvedev.
Daniil won 13 titles in his career: 6 on hard courts, 6 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev played each other 8 times. Their actual head to head record is 6-2 for Medvedev. Before, the last time they played, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-3 7-6(3) 7-5 in the quarter in Paris (French Open) in June 2021.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
