As a lot as Daniil Medvedev cared about taking up the No. 1 rating in males’s tennis, he knew there have been extra severe issues occurring Thursday involving his residence nation of Russia.
A loss by Novak Djokovic on the Dubai Championships meant that the Serbian participant would transfer all the way down to No. 2 and Medvedev was assured of turning into the twenty seventh man to carry the highest spot within the ATP _ even earlier than Medvedev reached the semifinals by successful his match on the Mexico Open.
It all occurred on the identical day that Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that started with air and missile strikes on army services earlier than troops and tanks rolled throughout borders from the north, east and south.
“Watching the news from home, waking up here in Mexico, was not easy,” Medvedev stated after beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-3. “By being a tennis player, 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.”
Medvedev famous that the pair that received the doubles title on the Marseille Open final week included one Russian (Andrey Rublev) and one Ukrainian (Denys Molchanov), saying: “This was amazing, because people need to stay together.”
Reflecting on the day, Medvedev added: “In these moments, you perceive that tennis generally isn’t that essential. … It was not simple to play and I’m glad that I managed to win the match, however it was a little bit of a roller-coaster day for me.”
The 26-year-old Medvedev, who received final yr’s US Open for his first Grand Slam title, stated he obtained congratulations from different gamers about his new rating, which is able to turn out to be official on Monday.
“Of course, I’m happy to reach No. 1,” Medvedev stated. “It was my goal since I was young.”
He will face Rafael Nadal or Tommy Paul within the semifinals of the hard-court match. Medvedev misplaced to Nadal within the Australian Open ultimate in January after blowing a two-set lead, a yr after shedding the ultimate there in opposition to Djokovic.
“Always playing against the Big Three or Big Four, it’s an honor, 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 sport is.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas additionally moved on to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Marcos Giron.
The third-seeded Tsitsipas will play Peter Gojowczyk or Cameron Norrie subsequent.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev was kicked out of the match after violently hitting the chair umpire’s stand together with his racket following a loss in doubles.
Zverev was fined $40,000 and can forfeit greater than $30,000 in prize cash and all rating factors from the Mexican Open. In addition to these penalties, the ATP introduced Thursday it might undertake “a further review of the incident.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
