Daniil Medvedev says the fact he is currently prohibited from playing under the flag of his home country has no impact on his ability to win big matches on the Tour.
Russian and Belarussian players are only allowed to play on the tennis circuit as neutral athletes as a result of the Ukraine war. Russia launched a ‘special military’ operation on the country on February 24th and Belarus is suspected of supporting them. The conflict has already killed more than 5000 civilians, according to the United Nations.
Speaking to reporters in Toronto on Monday, Medvedev said his status as a neutral athlete has had no impact on his mentality on the Tour as he prepares to start the defence of his US Open title later this month.
“For me what matters is playing tennis. I really enjoy my job. It’s about following the rules. The rule at one point was very clear that we have to play under a neutral flag,” he said.
“Me, I’m still Daniil Medvedev. I still want to win big titles, win big matches or small matches. It doesn’t change.”
As a result of the ongoing war, Medvedev was unable to play at this year’s Wimbledon after organizers banned players from the two countries from participating. Officials said the decision made by them and the British LTA followed government advice. However, both the ATP and WTA criticized the move and removed ranking points from the Grand Slam. Something which ironically played in Medvedev’s favour when concerning the No.1 position.
“You have to appreciate it because I definitely couldn’t change the decision of Wimbledon. I have to follow the rules,” Medvedev commented.
“If you focus on the negative part. For sure I wanted to play Wimbledon, I wanted to do well there. I always want to be in the biggest tournaments and try to play good.
“You can just stay in this circle of, oh, my God, I was not able to be there.”
After taking a short break, the 26-year-old made a triumphant return to tennis last week by winning the Los Cabos Open without dropping a set. The performance has also guaranteed that he will stay at the top of the rankings until at least the end of the US Open.
Medvedev’s next challenge will be at this week’s Canadian Masters in Montreal where he is seeking to win the title for the second year in a row. The tournament will be without the Big Three due to both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer being sidelined with injuries. Novak Djokovic is unable to play as he isn’t allowed into Canada due to his vaccination status.
“It doesn’t change much if they’re here or not because my goal is to win the tournament,” Medvedev commented. “So no matter who I play … if it’s going to be a qualifier or wild card, lucky loser, second seed, I just want to win the match.”
Medvedev faces a potential blockbuster opening match. Granted a bye in the first round, he could play Wimbledon runner-up and last week’s Citi Open champion Nick Kyrgios if the Australian wins his opening match against Sebastián Báez.
“I will have two good days of practice and after I’ll start the tournament,” he said. “Of course, I’m very hungry for victories.”
Medvedev has won 14 ATP titles in his career so far with 13 of them being on a hardcourt.
