London, July 9 – Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev secured his spot in the semifinals of the highly anticipated 2024 Wimbledon tournament held in London after defeating Italy’s top racquet player Jannik Sinner on Tuesday.
Earlier this year, Sinner managed to turn the tables after being down two sets, ultimately emerging victorious against Medvedev in the final of the 2024 Australian Open. The Italian continued his winning streak over Medvedev by defeating him in straight sets during the semifinals at the 2024 ATP Miami Open tennis tournament.
Following his Tuesday match, Medvedev expressed to the official ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) website that he knew it would be a tough contest against Sinner, as “he is not a guy you are going to beat easily.” However, during their intense duel in London, Medvedev managed to maintain his high level of play and ultimately secured the victory.
In the third set of their match, Sinner requested a medical timeout, with the ATP reporting that the Italian had his pulse checked by a doctor before stepping off the court for further treatment. In response to Sinner’s physical state during the game, Medvedev remarked, “It is very tough because I could feel he wasn’t moving that well.
Currently ranked fifth in the ATP rankings, Medvedev has had a remarkable career in tennis. In 2022, he held the number one spot in the world for sixteen weeks and has secured five of his twenty ATP tournament titles in 2023 alone. Additionally, he won the Davis Cup and the ATP Cup as part of the Russian national team in 2021.
The prestigious Wimbledon tournament takes place annually in London since its inception in 1877. This year’s Wimbledon runs from July 1 to 14, offering a total prize money of $63 million. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic are the reigning champions in men’s and women’s singles, respectively.
In light of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations on February 28, 2022 to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in international sports tournaments. Consequently, most global sports federations decided to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from all international events.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of both the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in those countries. On March 14, 2022, ITF confirmed its prohibition of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
However, both the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue competing in WTA and ATP tournaments but only under a neutral status.