Stefanos Tsitsipas admits he was completely wrong about Daniil Medvedev

There is little doubt that the one-time feud between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev was real. How else to explain Tsitsipas saying "bulls*** Russian" to Medvedev once during a match, with Medvedev answering, "You better shut your (expletive) up, OK?" Players that do not like each other say such things.

The Greek had issues in the past with the Russian's unorthodox style. The weird part is that players play in a way that gives them the best chance to win. If Medvedev has to do unusual things, such as stand far back from the baseline when the other player is serving, to try to win the match, that's fine. No one was injured by what he was doing.

Medvedev even once said of Tistsipas that the two players had terrible chemistry and that they "didn't have a relationship." But times have seemingly changed, and the Laver Cup helped bring them together. The two have played for Team Europe and have rooted for one another in the tournament. They also used the event to hash out their differences.

Stefanos Tsitsipas confesses he was wrong about Daniil Medvedev

Medvedev has dominated the head-to-head versus Tsitsipas, including getting another win at the Shanghai Masters this week in straight sets. The Russian leads the series 10-4, and the last time Tsitsipas defeated Medvedev was in 2022. The Greek has not beaten the Russian in straight sets since 2021.

Speaking to the press at the Shanghai Masters, Tsitsipas addressed the perception that the Greek and Russian simply do not like one another. He also admitted he was wrong to criticize Medvedev's unorthodox game.

Tsitsipas said, "I consider him someone that I respect on the tour, much more than I did before...we also had the time to speak about those things and have a common understanding of why these things happen...in the past, I might have said some mean stuff about his game, but after actually thinking about those things, I think I was completely wrong in that."

Tennis needs Medvedev and Tsitsipas to get along. They are both likable players, though in mostly completely different ways. Tsitsipas is more extroverted, and Medvedev has a more wry sense of humor. For the sake of tennis, let's hope they continue to get along well into the future.

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