Daniil Medvedev of Russia stated he was "all for peace" regarding the outbreak of the warfare in Ukraine.
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ACAPULCO, Mexico — As a lot as Daniil Medvedev cared about taking on the No. 1 rating in males’s tennis, he knew there have been extra critical issues taking place Thursday involving his dwelling nation of Russia.
A loss by Novak Djokovic on the Dubai Championships meant that the Serbian participant would transfer right down to No. 2 and Medvedev was assured of changing into the twenty seventh man to carry the highest spot within the ATP — even earlier than Medvedev reached the semifinals by profitable his match on the Mexico Open.
All of it occurred on the identical day that Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that started with air and missile strikes on navy services earlier than troops and tanks rolled throughout borders from the north, east and south.
“Watching the information from dwelling, waking up right here in Mexico, was not simple,” Medvedev stated after beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-3. “By being a tennis participant, I wish to promote peace everywhere in the world. We play in so many various international locations; I’ve been in so many international locations as a junior and as a professional. It’s simply not simple to listen to all this information. … 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 wonderful, as a result of folks want to remain collectively.”
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 completely satisfied that I managed to win the match, nevertheless it was little bit of a roller-coaster day for me.”
The 26-year-old Medvedev, who received final yr’s U.S. Open for his first Grand Slam title, stated he obtained congratulations from different gamers about his new rating, which is able to turn into official on Monday.
“After all, I’m completely satisfied to succeed in No. 1,” Medvedev stated. “It was my purpose since I used to be younger.”
He'll face Rafael Nadal within the semifinals of the hard-court event. Medvedev misplaced to Nadal within the Australian Open ultimate in January after blowing a two-set lead, a yr after dropping the ultimate there towards Djokovic.
“At all times taking part in towards the Huge Three or Huge 4, it´s an honor, and an amazing problem. In Australia (towards Nadal), I might have received, however the consequence ultimately was that I misplaced,” Medvedev stated. “It was a troublesome loss, however that’s how sport is.”
Nadal beat Tommy Paul 6-0, 7-6 (5) to enhance his file to 13-0 on the season. Nadal is a three-time Acapulco champion the place he has a 23-2 file.
Stefanos Tsitsipas additionally moved on to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Marcos Giron.
The third-seeded Tsitsipas will subsequent play both Peter Gojowczyk or Cameron Norrie.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev was kicked out of the event after violently hitting the chair umpire’s stand along 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 rankings factors from the Mexican Open. Along with these penalties, the ATP introduced Thursday it might undertake “an additional assessment of the incident.”
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