Jannik Sinner has hit back at Alexander Zverev's allegations that there is a conspiracy to help him and Carlos Alcaraz succeed.
Sinner is world number two and has claimed four Grand Slam titles so far in his tennis career.
The 24-year-old Italian has claimed two Australian Open titles, the US Open and Wimbledon so far, while he has also reached the final of the French Open.
Sinner is one of the two huge stars at the top of the tree in men's tennis at the moment, with Spanish star Alcaraz the other, who is currently world number one.
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Alcaraz has six Grand Slam crowns to his name having won the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open twice each.
The pair have met on the court on 15 occasions overall and been in Grand Slam finals three times this year.
Alcaraz came out on top at the French Open, before Sinner claimed victory at Wimbledon, with the Spaniard winning at the US Open.
With the duo being the two dominant forces in men's tennis at this moment in time, Zverev has launched a remarkable attack on the sport's tournament directors for allegedly favouring Alcaraz and Sinner by making the courts the same speed in a bid to help the pair.
Speaking at the Shanghai Masters in China, Zverev said: "I hate when it's the same, to be honest.
"I think the tournament directors are going towards that direction because, obviously, they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament and that's what they prefer.
"Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don't like it, I'm not a fan of it.
"I think tennis needs different game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety and I think we're lacking that right now."
Sinner has now responded to the allegations made by Zverev and the Italian was genuinely baffled and lost for words at the suggestion as he made it clear he is purely focused on playing tennis and winning.
After being told Zverev's comments by an interviewer, a bemused Sinner said: "Wow. I don't know what to say on that one to be honest.
"It's a question I don't know. We don't - or at least I don't - make the course. I just want to play tennis to be honest and try to play as good as I can."
In a separate interview via the Mirror US, Sinner said: "You know, me and Carlos, we don't make the courts. It's not our decision. We try to adapt ourself in every situation. I feel like still every week is a bit different.
"I've played some great tennis even when it was faster courts. But I'm not making the courts, you know, so I just try to adapt and play my best tennis I can, and that's it."
Topics: Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Tennis
John McDougall