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By Giri Nathan
[vc_empty_space height="15px"]What is the magic behind great sports rivalries? Do they stem from mutual respect, technical brilliance, and a constant desire to improve? Let me double-check. Oh, that’s right, they stem from telling your opponent, “Man, you better shut your fuck up,” one hot day in Miami. If you have not already acquainted yourself with the iconic 2018 flare-up between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev, you’re missing out on key lore for the present generation of ATP stars. You are also missing out on some peak stream-of-consciousness Meddy: “You go emergency toilet for five minutes during and then you hit let and don’t say sorry, you think you’re a good kid?” Some phrases just stick. In sufficiently meme-poisoned online circles, one of these men might forever be the “bullshit Russian,” and the other “a small kid who doesn’t know how to fight,” no matter how many titles they plunk on their shelves. In truth, it seems like the animosity between them has since subsided, but it’s always fun to remember it, and just as fun to watch their actual tennis, especially this week at the ATP Finals in Turin.