Taylor Fritz speaks out about Daniil Medvedev's wife claiming she is a 'cheater' | Tennis | Sport

Daniil Medvedev revealed that Taylor Fritz once accused him of “cheating” during a tennis practice session – but his US Open rival has since played down any frustration on his part. Fritz said the incident between the pair at Wimbledon 2018 was “not that bad”, although Medvedev's wife claimed she heard him accuse the Russian of cheating.

Medvedev has reached the third round of the US Open, where he will face Flavio Cobolli on Saturday local time. Fritz is already in the round of 16 at his home Grand Slam, where he will face Casper Ruud.

Medvedev, ranked fifth in the world and who has flown under the radar at this year's US Open, regularly attracts attention thanks to his quirky interviews. And the Russian did so again after his win over Fabian Marozsan on Thursday, when he told a humorous anecdote during his post-match press conference.

Medvedev, 28, was asked if he had ever been cheated on during a practice match with another player. And he spoke openly about the incident with Fritz six years ago, saying: “I have a funny story. I don't know if Taylor Fritz remembers it. If he can tell it, you can ask him from his side at the next press conference.”

“We played at Wimbledon. That was probably 2018 or 2019. So long ago. Neither of us were where we are now. Brutally honest, I don't want to cheat in practice, but you know, sometimes you don't see the ball.

“It's like a challenge. Today I asked for the replay and the ball was so far in and in my head it was really close. OK, these things happen. So we play and I don't remember exactly what it was but I called a couple of outs where I thought the ball was out.

“Then my wife – I think she was even my girlfriend at the time – talked to me after practice and said he had talked to his coach and said, 'Damn that guy, he cheats all the time.'

“I was so shocked because I really don't care, especially in practice, if I win or lose a practice set. I always try to win, but it doesn't matter. Honestly, I don't think anyone on tour wants to cheat in practice. So he obviously wasn't happy with me.”

Fritz, ranked 12th in the world, has now responded after being asked the question at his own press conference. On the claim that Medvedev's wife heard him make the “cheating claim”, Fritz replied: “Yes, I heard it. I don't remember it exactly. I think if I said something… I think I remember that maybe he just gave me the wrong decision. I do that all the time.”

“For example, if someone makes a bad decision in training, I turn to my coach and say: 'He caught me so badly there' or 'He made such a bad decision.' I don't really care, I know that nobody does it on purpose. I then comment like: 'Yeah, that was a really bad decision.'

“But if that happened, then that's what happened. I didn't think – I didn't think, 'Oh, he's cheating on me so much,'” he added with a smile. “Definitely, it's not that deep.” Medvedev claims the pair now have a “good relationship” as they have achieved a lot since then, although they are still not “friends.”