Alexander Zverev has named Daniil Medvedev as his "most annoying rival," and even hilariously stated that the Russian "turns into a prime Novak Djokovic" whenever they meet on the court.
Against Medvedev, Zverev has seven wins in 20 meetings and the 2021 US Open champion is evidently an uncomfortable matchup for him. But there is one stunning thing about their rivalry – before the German started regularly losing to the Russian, he had a perfect 4-0 record against the former world No. 1 and once also held a 5-1 record in their head-to-head.
However, that was before the 2020 season. Since 2020, they have clashed against each other 14 times and Medvedev has won 12 of those encounters.
Over the past year and a half, the Russian has struggled a lot with his consistency and he is now ranked at No. 14 in the world. However, that didn't stop him from beating the third-ranked German 7-6 (3) 6-7 (1) 6-4 in their most recent meeting in the Halle semifinal.
Zverev: Even now, I still lose to Medvedev… He turns into a primer Djokovic against me
“For me, the most obvious answer is Daniil. I mean, lost to him like 78 times, to be honest (laughs). Even now. Even now, I’m ranked three in the world and he is ranked, I don’t know 14, and I still lose to him in Halle. He turns into prime Novak Djokovic every time he plays against me and I’m like, ‘I don’t even play that bad. Why am I losing?'” the 28-year-old said on the Nothing Major Show, which is hosted by former American tennis player Sam Querrey, John Isner, Steve Johnson and Jack Sock.
Zverev maybe hasn't had much success against Medvedev in recent years but he won one of their most important clashes in the last five years – the German ended on the winning side in the 2021 ATP Finals final to win his second title at the prestigious season-ending tournament.
