Daniil Medvedev is the new number 1 in the tennis world from Monday. © ANSA / David Guzman
The new tennis world number one, Daniil Medvedev, has expressed concern about the attack by Russian troops on Ukraine.
February 25, 2022
From: dpa
“Waking up here in Mexico and seeing the news from home wasn’t easy,” said the 26-year-old Russian after his quarter-final victory at the ATP tournament in Acapulco. As a tennis player, he promotes peace around the world. “We play in so many different countries, I was in so many different countries as a junior and as a professional. It’s not easy to hear all this news,” Medvedev said.
Because Novak Djokovic lost on Thursday at the parallel tournament in Dubai, he will hand over his lead in the world rankings to Medvedev next Monday. Of course he’s happy to be number one, said Medvedev, describing it as a goal since childhood. “But in these moments it is clear that sometimes tennis is not so important,” said the Australian Open finalist of this year and US Open winner of 2021. In the semifinals in Acapulco, Medvedev meets the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, against whom he last lost in the Melbourne final after a 2-0 set lead.
Medvedev pointed out that his Russian compatriot Andrej Rublev won the doubles title together with the Ukrainian Denis Molchanov at the tournament in Marseille last week. “That was great because people have to stick together,” said Medvedev.
