Daniil Medvedev is a quick-witted guy. On the one hand on the tennis court, where he makes life difficult for every opponent with his unorthodox shots. On the other hand, off the pitch, where he answers even uncomfortable questions in a refreshing and honest way.
And the 27-year-old has to ask himself critical questions again and again, since he is Russian and therefore a representative of the country that unleashed a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. Most recently, the native of Moscow was allowed to answer “happy” because he can participate in Wimbledon again this year.
Another reason to be happy
The organizers there will again allow Russians and Belarusians as neutral athletes under repeated pressure. The London lawn classic is “a tournament that I love,” said Medvedev in Miami.
In Florida he had another reason to be happy. He won the title at the Masters tournament after beating Italy’s Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3, and started the year better than ever. He won four of the past five professional tournaments and was in the final of another. That means: Medvedev won 24 of his last 25 matches.
He loves hard courts, he said after his triumph in Miami: “I win there even if I don’t play my best tennis.” It wasn’t enough at the Australian Open in January, where he failed in the third round.
“Now the clay court season begins, let’s see what you can do there,” said the defeated Sinner pointedly. On the red surface Medvedev is not superior.
Novak Djokovic will also be involved again on sand after he recently did not compete in Indian Wells or Miami. As he was not vaccinated, he was not allowed to enter the USA. Nevertheless, he can feel like a winner: he has again taken over number one in the world rankings from Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.