Daniil Medvedev opens up about unbreakable bond with "kind" Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov and others

Daniil Medvedev recently shed light on his closest friendships on the ATP tour, highlighting his camaraderie with Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov among others.

Coming off his title victory in Miami, Medvedev made a strong start to his campaign at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters with a straight-sets win over Lorenzo Sonego. The World No. 5 secured an early break and raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set. He was clinical in the second set as well, defending his solitary break to secure a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

In an interview with the ATP tour, Daniil Medvedev was asked about his best friends on tour. The former World No. 1 in response named Karen Khachanov, Andrey Rublev, Ilya Ivashka and Roman Safiullin.

"Everyone I know from juniors. Everyone I played team competitons with. So Karen, Andrey, Ilya Ivashka, Roman Safiullin," Medvedev said.

The 27-year-old also mentioned Ivan Gakhov as a close friend and talked about the bond they created by playing fantasy football together.

"I have a friend, he playes here. Ivan Gakhov, we play fantasy together," he added.

Medvedev was then asked to define the aforementioned friends in three words.

"Kind, happy and fun," he replied.

When asked why he considered them to be his closest friends on tour, the Russian highlighted the unbreakable bond brought about by their close association since they were 10 years old.

"We've known each other since we were 10 years old. We've spent a lot of good moments together. We do the same job, that creates a bond which I think you cannot really break after," he stated.

Daniil Medvedev's close friendship with Andrey Rublev was in the spotlight recently as Rublev reportedly became the godfather to Medvedev's daughter Alisa.

Daniil Medvedev will take on Alexander Zverev in the 3R of the Monte-Carlo Masters

Medvedev defeated Zverev at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters

Daniil Medvedev will take on Alexander Zverev in the third round of the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Following his victory over Sonego, Medvedev expressed satisfaction with his dominant performance and stated that he felt confident walking into the "big test" against Zverev in the next round.

"I felt in control during the match. I'm very happy. This makes me confident for the next match. It's going to be a tough one. It's going to be a big test against Zverev, so I'm happy today," he said in a post-match interview.

Daniil Medvedev leads 7-6 in his head-to-head against Alexander Zverev, having won six of their last seven encounters.