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“Tennis is sometimes not the most important thing” said this Thursday in Acapulco, Mexico, the Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev when referring to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, after qualifying for the semifinals of the Mexican Open that takes place in this city. And in the same sense the Spaniard was sincere Rafael Nadalnext opponent of the new number one in the world in one of the semifinals of the tournament, wishing that the conflict “end as soon as possible”.
“At the moment it will be understood that tennis is sometimes not so important. I woke up with a lot of emotions,” confessed Medvedev, who will officially become number one in the ATP ranking next Monday.
“This day has been like a roller coaster with many feelings,” Medvedev said at a press conference after beating Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarterfinals of the Acapulco tournament.
For his part, after beating the American Tommy Paul, the Spanish Rafael Nadal also expressed his opinion on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “This is devastating news,” Nadal said, but not from his position as an athlete.
«I cannot give an opinion as a tennis player, I can give an opinion as a citizen just like any other person. I don’t want to talk about culprits or what the problem is, but whatever it is at this point and in the century we are in, it seems incredible to me that there are warsI can’t understand it, I hope it ends as soon as possible. The only thing I want is for there to be as few affected people as possible, as few losses as possible », he declared.
sports revenge
On January 30, Nadal defeated Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open, in a match that lasted more than five hours. This Friday they will meet again in the semifinals of the Acapulco Open.
Medvedev pointed out that it will be “an honor” to play again against someone from the ‘Big Four’ and recalled that the January final in Australia “was very even, but I couldn’t win”, despite taking the first two sets. “Now I have the opportunity for revenge, but Nadal is an amazing player and it will not be easy.”
Regarding this confrontation, which will be number five between the Russian and the Spanish, Nadal pointed out that this match will be played in very different conditions from the Australian Open final. “The rival is highly demanding, very difficult, he is number 1 in the world, we have already seen how hard it is to beat him in Australia, he is playing very well. I need to be at my one hundred percent to have any option, ”concluded the Spaniard, fifth for the ATP today.
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