"He's one to talk about sportsmanship" - Tennis fans criticize Alexander Zverev for his comments against Daniil Medvedev after Monte-Carlo clash

Alexander Zverev laid into Daniil Medvedev in the aftermath of their Round of 16 clash at the Monte-Carlo Masters on Thursday. Zverev slammed Medvedev for his behavior during the match, calling him "one of the most unfair players" in the world.

However, several fans disagreed with the German, questioning instead why he himself didn't adopt a sportsmanlike attitude during his losses.

Medvedev saved two match points before registering a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(7) comeback win against Zverev. The duo then shared what seemed like a 'cold' handshake at the net.

Later, Zverev criticized Medvedev for taking an untimely toilet break, and accused the Russian of trying to distract him when he was leading.

"He is one of the most unfair players in the world. I take fairplay and sportsmanship very seriously. He does not. He takes a toilet break when it's not possible anymore," Alexander Zverev told Sky after the match.

"There are 1000 situations in which he feels that I start to play better and in which he tries to do something every time. I'm extremely disappointed from him as an athlete," Zverev added.

While Zverev was evidently peeved by Medvedev's behavior, tennis fans slammed the German for his harsh criticism of Medvedev. Many claimed that Zverev himself had shown unsportsmanlike conduct in the past.

Some also stressed that the toilet break that Medvedev took, which Zverev referred to, was well within the 90 seconds of time allotted in a changeover.

"I get that he is unhappy with Medvedev but what toilet break is he even talking about??? Meddy leaving the court and returning within the 90-second changeover is not a "toilet break." It's a standard break to change the ends. And he's surely the one to talk about sportsmanship," a fan wrote on Twitter.

"I take sportsmanship very seriously", says Alexander Zverev who asked Khachanov to not celebrate in Paris 2018 because he was feeling sick, falsely accused Tsitsipas of taking his phone to the bathroom and also intimidated Sinner in Cologne 2020 because he checked a mark. LOL," another fan expressed.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to Alexander Zverev's comments about Daniil Medvedev:

"He served two times for the match, so probably should have done better" - Daniil Medvedev on Alexander Zverev after Monte-Carlo clash

Reflecting on the match, Daniil Medvedev suggested that Alexander Zverev should have done better as he served for the match twice and later held two match points. The former world No. 1 also opined that matches on clay can turn around very quickly and that he managed to take advantage of such a situation against Zverev on Thursday.

"That was a crazy match. I mean, he served two times for the match, so probably should have done better,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview.

“But, that’s also clay courts. As soon as someone gets a little bit tight, the match can turn around in one second and that’s what I managed to do," he added.

Medvedev's Monte-Carlo Masters campaign ended in the quarterfinals with a 3-6, 4-6 loss to sixth seed Holger Rune on Friday. It was only the second loss for Medvedev since the Australian Open in January; the Russian won four titles out of five tournaments leading up to Monte-Carlo.