At the US Open, Daniil Medvedev showed no mercy for the incarceration of American Brittney Griner in Russia

The last champion successfully entered the competition. On Monday-Tuesday night, Daniil Medvedev attended his first game at the US Open. Against the American Stefan Kozlov, the Russians won in three sets (6-2, 6-4, 6-0) without shaking. “I am happy that I won under difficult circumstances. It is quite hot and humid here. I was sweating a lot but I think there were some good points. I managed to be pretty solid. Service was very important today. I’m happy to get to the second round.“, he said at the world No. 1 post-match press conference.

Due to the geopolitical context, Daniil Medvedev did not avoid a few questions about Russian news. The war in Ukraine indirectly affected the career of the 26-year-old, as he was specifically banned from participating in the Wimbledon tournament this summer. Despite the difficulties, Medvedev relativizes and maintains a certain philosophy: “As for this situation, I don’t know exactly how to explain it. I don’t want to be rude, but I try to see things one by one. For example: I have many friends from all over the world. When this all started, many may have turned their backs on me for being Russian. And of course, many of my good friends know who I am. They know that I am Daniil Medvedev, that I play tennis. I like to think I’m educated. Maybe not everyone thinks like that. The situation in Ukraine has not changed that. The same goes for Ukrainians: there are many Ukrainians who are very good people, there are others who are bad. There are a lot of Russians who are good people and there are bad Russians. In my case, I tried to find out for myself what was really important and learned that it passes from person to person.“

Also, Daniil Medvedev was questioned about the Brittney Griner affair. Since last February, the American basketball player has been detained in Russia after being arrested at Moscow airport for possession of marijuana. At the beginning of August, the WNBA star was sentenced to 9 years in prison and a fine of one million rubles, or about 16,000 euros. “I’ve heard of this case but I don’t know all the details“begins by replying to Daniil Medvedev before expressing his view on the matter in more detail.

The Russian thus compared Brittney Griner’s situation to that of Novak Djokovic, who was banned from traveling to the United States due to American legislation requiring a full schedule of vaccinations for foreign travelers:I think it’s pretty comparable to other situations like Novak Djokovic’s. For some reason he could not enter the country, different laws. We can’t say if this law makes sense, especially since Americans can come back without a vaccine, while Novak can’t come here. He doesn’t want to live in the USA, he just wants to play the tennis tournament and go to Serbia. So same thing. I don’t know the exact situation, but I think if it really happened… (cuts) Was it marijuana? I don’t remember what it was, so I want to tell you that the law is the law.“

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