MOSCOW – Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev cleared on Wednesday the opening stage of the 2022 ATP tennis tournament at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.
The top-seed Medvedev cruised past his opponent Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia with straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 to advance in the next round against home favorite Dominic Thiem.
It was Medvedev’s first match after recovering from an injury he sustained on Oct. 8 while playing against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2022 Astana Open Tournament. He is participating in international tennis tournaments under a neutral status.
Medvedev, 26, is currently rated as the World’s No. 4 in the ATP (the Association of Tennis Professionals) Rankings List and is the winner of 14 ATP tournaments. He is also the winner of the 2021 US Open and the 2020 ATP Finals.
Neutral status
On Feb. 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations and also canceled all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in these countries.
On March 14, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
The Women Tennis Association (WTA) and the ATP allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but under a neutral status. (TASS)
