WATCH: “He’s just ugly!” Tennis fans enraged with Stefanos Tsitsipas’ ‘dirty’ tactics of smashing the ball toward Daniil Medvedev’s body
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Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas
The modern-day rivalry between Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of the biggest given their heated past encounters. The duo met for the 10th time on tour in the 2022 Cincinnati Masters semifinal where Tsitsipas, courtesy of inspired performance, defeated Medvedev in three sets 7-6(6),3-6,6-3 to reach his maiden final in Cincinnati.
The two aren’t the best of friends and are known for disliking each other over the years. Medvedev has dominated most of their matches, especially on hard courts, but it was Tsitsipas who came up with a definite plan this time around. He unleashed the serve-volley game and showcased some world-class volleys to which, Medvedev had no answers.
Towards the end, the Greek was aided by Medvedev’s being distracted by the fireworks’ sound. Tsitsipas grabbed the opportunity with both hands and took the decisive break of serve which he capitalized till the very end. This was Tsitsipas’ third win over Medvedev and he still trails the H2H record 3-7.
Stefanos Tsitsipas smashed the ball into Daniil Medvedev’s body
The first set of the match was pure high-class tennis with both players trying to execute their plans. The Greek stuck to his serve-volley plan and was coming towards the net very often. During one of the exchanges, things got a little out of hand when Tsitsipas intentionally directed the ball toward Medvedev.
During the rally when both men were at the net, Tsitsipas got an opportunity to finish the point with a smash. He intentionally smashed the ball into Medvedev’s body despite having the open court. He later apologized for his action but fans on social media didn’t enjoy Tsitsipas‘ ‘unsportsmanlike’ act.
Tsitsipas will now face Borna Coric in the final of the Cincinnati Masters in an attempt to win his 3rd Masters title.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)