Tennis Brat John McEnroe’s recent banter with Daniil Medvedev received a surprising reaction from the latter. Known for speaking his mind, this American ATP legend shared the screen with the Russian, leaving people in splits. While McEnroe’s banter forced Medvedev to leave the court on screen, the Russian ATP star revealed why he “would love to shoot more” with the American tennis legend.

Apart from reaching Wimbledon’s quarterfinals, Daniil Medvedev is quite a talk of the town for his recent commercial with John McEnroe for Pepperstone, the official ranking sponsor of the ATP tours. On Tennis Channel’s podcast, he had a conversation with host Brett Haber, Jim Courier, and Lindsey Davenport about how he felt sharing the camera with the “Tennis Brat”.  After talking about the commercial’s success, the host asked Medvedev to narrate his experience working with a legend like John McEnroe. In his response, Medvedev not only praised the Pepperstone team but also called the experience “really cool.”

Mentioning how “great” McEnroe was, Medvedev further revealed, “It was so fun and we did it like so fast. We didn’t take many takes because it was so natural to shoot with him.” The Russian Grand Slam winner also expressed his desire to do more commercials with the American ATP legend. “It was so fun and we did it like so fast. We didn’t take many takes because it was so natural to shoot with him,” he said.

In the commercial, people spotted Medvedev practicing on the grass court when the three-time Wimbledon champion (1981, 1983, and 1984) interrupted him, saying that “he is doing it all wrong.” As the Russian reminds McEnroe that he is “one of the best in the world”, the American legend focuses on how he is one of many in the queue. Then McEnroe offers Medvedev his iconic Wimbledon shorts and a red headband, making him so uncomfortable that he chooses to go out. At the end, the tagline appears on the screen: “Don’t be fine with it.” 

While the advertisement left people rolling on the floor laughing, they also realized that Medvedev did quite well without McEnroe’s hilarious advice. The Russian former world number one reached Wimbledon’s quarterfinals twice in two years despite admitting his difficulties on England’s grass surface. Following his recent win against Grigor Dimitrov in the Round of 16 two days ago, he is definitely feeling better about this Grand Slam. Now that he reached the quarterfinals against Jannik Sinner, Medvedev’s advertisement pal helped him with some meaningful advice.

John McEnroe asks Daniil Medvedev to have a strong thought of revenge in the quarterfinals

Medvedev expressed his delight in reaching the quarterfinals, where he will face Jannik Sinner. John McEnroe, who attended Medvedev’s match as a BBC commentator, advised him to harbor a strong sense of revenge while facing Sinner. Given that Sinner had defeated the Russian in all five of their previous encounters, the American former professional tennis player suggested Medvedev have a fiercer attitude to overcome the world number one. The 65-year-old former ATP player noted that Medvedev might have preferred to face Sinner on a hard court, given his comfort on that surface, but encouraged him to play with his heart and give it his best shot.

During the Australian Open finals, McEnroe not only called the 28-year-old player “a brilliant strategist” but also praised him saying, “I already thought of Daniil Medvedev as a chess master, a brilliant strategist, he did it once again [in the semi-final] – he shifted gears, changed his return position, started attacking more, serving bigger.” This statement highlights McEnroe’s admiration for the Russian’s playstyle and his hope for Medvedev’s victory against Sinner this time.

Nevertheless, Daniil Medvedev’s enthusiasm for shooting more commercials with John McEnroe highlights their great bond. It also reveals how good an actor the Russian ATP star is.