Medvedev and his fellow Russian athletes were unable to compete at Wimbledon due to the tournament’s controversial ban on Russian and Belarusian competitors, leaving the 26-year-old to bide his time before a highly anticipated US Open swing. Unveiling a multi-sport training bloc, he took time to golf with good friend Bastian Schweinsteiger and show off some footie skills that caught the attention of Bayern Munich, his favorite football team.
The ATP tour’s decision to respond to Wimbledon’s ban by stripping the tournament of ranking points means his spot atop the rankings was under no threat despite his absence. Despite winning a seventh Wimbledon title over Kyrgios, Djokovic is set to drop to No. 7 with few hopes of moving up given his continued refusal to become vaccinated against COVID-19—rendering him unable to travel to the United States or thereby compete at the US Open.
Having handled this setback with grace and even some humor, Medvedev is now in pole position to make a fresh start on hard courts, the surface on which he has traditionally posted his best results.
One might even say that Daniil Medvedev is firmly in the driver’s seat.
