Moscovite Daniil Medvedev reached the pinnacle of men’s tennis when he became the ATP’s world number one on Monday but what should have been a day of pride for Russian sport has been engulfed by the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Medvedev is only the third Russian man to top the standings and the first player outside the so-called “big four” of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to hold the top spot in 18 years.
But with the sporting world uniting its in condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Medvedev’s meteoric rise to the top could hardly have happened at a worse time for tennis.
On Sunday the Ukrainian Tennis Federation urged the sport’s governing body the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to immediately expel Russia and Belarus from the organisation and ban Russia from team and individual tournaments.
In a letter seen …
- February 28, 2022
