Alexander Zverev showed his class at the Paris Olympics this week by training with Arthur Fils, despite their recent row.
The pair came to blows in the Hamburg Open final, with tensions flaring to such an extent that the umpire was forced to stand between the two players and split them up.
During the final set of a gruelling contest which lasted three hours and 31 minutes, emotions boiled over between both players. Fils confronted Zverev during a break in play after he had seen his underarm serve ruled out upon further review after it was initially called in.
Fils’ desire to continue attempting underarm serves frustrated the German crowd and his missed serves were met with jeers, and Zverev became equally annoyed by how his French rival was playing.
Fils confronted Zverev in what sparked a blistering row in a break in play, prompting the umpire to leave his courtside chair to guide the former back to his side of the net. Despite such a tense match, which Fils ultimately won, there now appears to be water under the bridge between the pair.
An image shared on Reddit showed Zverev and Fils embracing ahead of a practice session at Roland Garros. The duo are both competing for their respective nations at the Paris Olympics, and their recent clash does not appear to have damaged their off-court friendship.
Both players were quick to try and defuse their flare-up in Hamburg despite a frosty post-match handshake, with Fils heaping praise on his opponent after his victory.
He said: “I did everything to win this match. I got cramps, when I was serving I was cramping. I was trying underarm serves because I cannot serve. The crowd took it badly but I don’t care, I’m winning and that’s it.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk