MY ACCOUNT
Daniil Medvedev remains dismayed by the prospect of missing Wimbledon but has ruled out taking the All England Club to court in a bid to overturn the ban on Russian players.
The US Open champion is in Paris for the French Open, which is allowing players from Russia and Belarus to compete.
Stars from those countries have been denied entry to Wimbledon next month, however, due to the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine.
They will not be allowed to play any events in England, the Lawn Tennis Association said, but Medvedev is determined to play a grass-court season and has signed up for tournaments in Netherlands and Germany already, while considering another in Spain.
The 26-year-old from Moscow has expressed hope that there could yet be a way for him into the Wimbledon draw, and stuck by that position on Friday.
“I’m not in the ATP taking the decisions, I’m not in Wimbledon taking the decisions. Maybe it’s government pushing them, maybe it’s their decision. There a lot of mistakes behind this,” Medvedev told a news conference at Roland Garros.
“So if I can play I’m going to be happy to play. I love Wimbledon as a tournament. I honestly tend to think I like playing on grass, though I didn’t have amazing results so far, but I managed to win one tournament. But if I cannot play, I’m going to try to play next year’s and try to play good there.”
Asked whether he would consider recourse to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Medvedev said: “Personally, I didn’t think about this.”
He suspects there might be a case to be made, but added: “I’m not going to go to court for this one.”
Court action might not be considered a good look, given the circumstances, so Medvedev looks like having to settle for playing the satellite ATP Tour events around the grass-court showpiece.
“Usually I like playing grass. I want to make some good results,” he said. “Halle is a really strong tournament and if you manage to win it, it’s a great result and gives you a lot of confidence no matter for the next tournaments if it’s grand slams or not, or if it’s Masters 1000.
“So I’m planning to play three grass-court events, which is ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Halle, and I’m thinking to go to Mallorca.”
Medvedev, who has spent time sidelined by hernia trouble recently, will face Facundo Bagnis in the first round in Paris.
