Daniil Medvedev of Russia after winning the match against Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan as part of the fourth day of the Telcel ATP Mexican Open 2022 at Arena GNP Seguros. (file photo)
As much as Daniil Medvedev cared about capturing the No. 1 ranking in men’s tennis, he knew that there were more serious matters going on involving his home nation of Russia.
Novak Djokovic’s defeat at the Dubai Championships meant the Serbian would drop to No. 2 and Medvedev was assured of becoming the 27th man to top the ATP – even before Medvedev reached the semi-finals after winning his match. . Mexico Open.
It all happened on the same day that Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began with air and missile strikes on military facilities before troops and tanks rolled across the borders from the north, east and south.
“Watching the news from home, waking up here in Mexico wasn’t easy,” Medvedev said after beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-3.
“Being a tennis player, I want to promote peace all over the world. We play in many different countries; I have been to many countries as a junior and a supporter. It is not easy to hear all this news … I am for peace.”
Medvedev noted that the pair that won the doubles title at last week’s Marseille Open included a Russian (Andrey Rublev) and a Ukrainian (Denis Molchanov), adding: “It was amazing because people need to be together.”
Reflecting on that day, Medvedev said: “In these moments, you understand that sometimes tennis is not so important. … was not easy to play and I am glad that I managed to win the match, but it was a roller-coaster day for me.
The 26-year-old Medvedev, who won the US Open last year for his maiden Grand Slam title, said he received congratulations from other players for his new ranking, which will become official on Monday.
“Of course, I’m happy to be number 1,” said Medvedev.
“That was my goal since I was little.”
He will face either Rafael Nadal or Tommy Paul in the semi-finals of the hard-court tournament.
Medvedev lost to Nadal after taking a two-set lead a year after he lost the final against Djokovic in the Australian Open final in January.
“Always playing against the Big Three or the Big Four, it’s an honor and a big challenge. In Australia (against Nadal) I could have won, but in the end the result was that I lost.
“It was a tough defeat, but that’s how the game is.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Marcos Giron.
Third seed Tsitsipas will next face either Peter Gozowski or Cameron Norie.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev was kicked out of the tournament after violently hitting the chair umpire’s stand with his racket after a doubles loss.
Zverev was fined $40,000 and will be fined more than $30,000 in prize money and all ranking points from the Mexican Open.
In addition to those penalties, the ATP announced on Thursday that it would conduct “another review of the incident”.
(reported by AP)
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