Quizmaster Medvedev says he's an ace at sports questions

Last year, Danil Medvedev spent the summer tearing up the hard-court season with runner-up finishes in Washington, Montreal and New York, and a title in Cincinnati. The summer of 2020 looks very different for the world No. 5 as he began his title defense of the Western & Southern Open, in the New York bubble, with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Marcos Giron.

It marked his first match since February. During the lengthy tour shutdown, Medvedev still found ways to improve, even off the court.

"If we talk about mind activities, I didn't do anything special, but actually, there is one Russian game," he told press on Monday. "I don't know if it has its English version, but it's a quiz where you play against other people."

The game, called Battle of the Geniuses, has five categories: sports, history, geography, art and science, and he's still playing it. He's naturally the best at answering sports questions, saying, "I usually never lose in soccer questions."

"I know so much about sports, not only talking about tennis," he said. "My dad loved sports, so he was watching, for example, a lot of cycling," adding that he was also interested in hockey, basketball, curling, snooker and soccer.

The game may have kept him even more occupied after he lost his license in France for six months for speeding (he was caught going 101 mph). Asked if he knew the speed limit, Medvedev had a simple answer:

"Yeah, but it was no cars and I was going home after tough practice day, so I wanted to be home faster."

The speedy Russian will face qualifier Alize Bedene on Tuesday.

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