Russian Daniil Medvedev said he wanted to promote peace around the world after a “roller-coaster day” when he was confirmed as the world’s top men’s tennis player and his country invaded Ukraine.
The US Open champion took the court in Acapulco, Mexico, hours after Novak Djokovic’s quarter-final loss in Dubai, which meant the Russian would replace him at the top of the men’s rankings on Monday. But the 26-year-old said it was not easy watching the news.
“By being a tennis player I want to promote peace all over the world,” Medvedev said after reaching the semi-finals at the ATP 500 tournament by defeating Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-3.
“We play in so many different countries. I’ve been in so many different countries as a junior and as a pro. It’s just not easy to hear all this news. I’m all for peace.”
Medvedev’s compatriot, Andrey Rublev, ranked seventh in the world, had paired up with Ukrainian Denys Molchanov to win a doubles title in Marseille last week. Referring to that partnership, Medvedev said: “This was amazing because I think people need to stay together and that’s most important.”
“In this moment, you understand that tennis sometimes is not that important,” he said, adding that he had wanted to win his match against Nishioka.
“It was definitely not easy to play and I am happy that I managed to win. That was a little bit of a roller-coaster day.”
The 24-year-old Rublev, who is currently playing at the Dubai Championships, said he was getting some bad comments online because of the situation in Ukraine.
“In these moments you realise that my match is not important. It’s not about my match, how it affects me. What’s happening is much more terrible,” Rublev said after his victory over USA’s Mackenzie McDonald late on Thursday.
In Mexico, Medvedev converted six break points and fired down 12 aces, including one to seal his quarter-final match. “It’s not easy, actually, to play a match when you get this (news) during the day,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview when asked about becoming world No.1.
“So then when I was receiving all the messages, well I understood that, yeah OK, it’s going to happen.”
In Saturday’s semi-final, the Russian will take on Rafael Nadal in an Australian Open final rematch. Medvedev had squandered a two-set lead against Nadal in Melbourne last month, allowing the Spaniard to clinch a men’s record 21st grand slam title. He will have to be in top form to beat Nadal, who is on a 13-match winning streak in 2022 — his best start to a season in his career at the age of 35.
“Everybody knows how difficult it is to play against Daniil,” Nadal said. “I know I have to play at my highest level if I want to have any chance, and that’s what I’m going to try.”
Medvedev said it would be special to face Nadal again.
“Kind of a chance to get my revenge,” said Medvedev. “You have to learn from the best, which is him, Roger (Federer), Novak, Andy (Murray) ... always when they were losing a tough fight, they were trying to get their revenge.”
