The Russian, who was a finalist at the Australian Open 2022, will be officially crowned the new men's No.1 on Monday.
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Australian Open 2022 runners-up Daniil Medvedev feels tennis is unimportant amid his country Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He also said that he woke up to a bucket full of emotions over the news of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Medvedev will be only the third Russian to be crowned men’s World No.1. He will replace the long-time World No.1 and Serbian megastar Novak Djokovic at the spot after he failed to participate at the Australian Open 2022 due to his unvaccinated status and shocking quarter-finals loss in Dubai.
“At this stage, one understands that tennis is sometimes not so important,” said after his quarter-finals win at Mexican Open 2022.
“I woke up (Thursday) with a lot of emotion swirling inside me,” he added.
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Medvedev defeated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-3 in straight sets to enter the Mexican Open 2022 semi-finals where the top seed will be seen renewing his rivalry with 21-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal.
“Always playing against the Big Three or Big Four is an honour and a great challenge. In Australia (against Nadal), I could have won, but the result, in the end, was that I lost,” Medvedev said. “It was a tough loss, but that’s how the sport is.”
On Thursday, his nation Russia reportedly launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine which included air and missile strikes on military facilities before troops and tanks rolled across borders.
Medvedev highlighted that it is painful to see the situation unfold on news from the place he is stationed in Mexico.
“Watching the news from home, waking up here in Mexico, was not easy,” Medvedev said after beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-3,” Medvedev said.
“I want to promote peace all over the world. We play in so many different countries; I’ve been in so many countries as a junior and as a pro. It’s just not easy to hear all this news… I’m all for peace,” he added.
He also highlighted that at the Marseille Open last week the pair that won doubles title included a Russian (Andrey Rublev) and one Ukrainian (Denys Molchanov), saying: “This was amazing because people need to stay together.”
