GENEVA – Watching the latest news from Ukraine is ‘very disturbing’, they are the number two tennis player Daniel Medvedev On Sunday he declared a war that prompted Wimbledon organizers to ban him and other Russians from participating in the tournament.
The US Open champion spoke at the Geneva Open, returning to action after five weeks of missing the ATP tour after having surgery for a hernia.
“I had some time to follow what is happening, yes, it is very disturbing,” Medvedev said when asked if he could closely monitor the conflict in Ukraine while not playing.
“All for peace,” Medvedev said in February, after Russia invaded Ukraine.
While most Olympic sports banned Russian teams and athletes from international events, tennis allowed players to continue competing as individuals rather than as representatives of their country.
Wimbledon organizers went even further, announcing three weeks ago, with the support of the UK government, a decision to impose a ban and “limit Russia’s global influence by the strongest possible means”.
They said that could change “if conditions change materially” in the war before the tournament kicks off on June 27.
“I don’t know if that decision was like 100% and it’s over” for him at Wimbledon, Medvedev said in Geneva, where he reached the last 16 last year.
“If I could play, I would be happy to play at Wimbledon. I love this tournament,” he said.
Looking relaxed and often smiling in a 16-minute press conference speaking in both English and French, Medvedev explained his look when asked about the support he’s been getting from other players.
“I, personally in life, try to respect every opinion because every human life is different,” he said. “I showed a tennis ball to 100 people, I’m sure some of them would say it’s green and not yellow.
“I think it’s yellow. If someone told me it was green, I wouldn’t conflict, you know, with that person.”
Medvedev is the top seed in the clay court championships in Geneva and has a farewell in the second round to face Richard Gasquet or John Millman.
The tournament will be his main preparation for the French Open, which starts next Sunday. Until last year reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, 26-year-old Medvedev had not made it past the first round.
“It wasn’t easy for me to get started right away on clay [well]He said, “Even one tournament would be good to prepare. I feel good physically.”