The pursuit of Djokovic is postponed: Medvedev is sick with coronavirus and will miss the Masters in Monte Carlo

Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev tested positive for coronavirus.

This happened the day before he was due to play his first match at the Masters in Monte Carlo.

The second racket of the world had to withdraw from the competition in singles and doubles.

The press service of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) reported that Medvedev was isolated and under the supervision of her doctors.

The athlete himself said that he was upset about what had happened, but promised to do everything in his power to get back to court as soon as possible.

“I am very disappointed that I will not play in Monte Carlo.

Now I am focused on my recovery and am looking forward to returning to the tour as quickly and safely as possible, ”Medvedev said.

President of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpishchev reacted to the news about the infection of the first racket of the country.

According to him, Medvedev is calmly coping with the course of the disease.

“Medvedev's condition seems to be normal.

In principle, while everything is in an easy form.

And then I don't know what will happen.

He is now at home, "- quotes Tarpishchev" Championship ".

Interestingly, more recently, Medvedev spoke out on the topic of coronavirus.

He criticized the decision to postpone the French Open.

The tennis player wondered why local authorities are fighting the pandemic in such ways.

“I'm a little surprised, because if we are talking about the rules, about the country and the government, then what will change from the postponement for a week?

We're talking about COVID.

I doubt this will change anything.

I must say this is ridiculous.

I'm not talking about the decisions of the French Tennis Federation or the government, but about the situation in general.

It seems that if the tournament is postponed, the coronavirus will disappear in a week.

There are many rules, and sometimes exceptions are needed, ”Medvedev told Tennis Majors.

Thanks to the second seeding number, the Russian had the right to start his performance in Monte Carlo immediately from the 1/16 finals and play with the winner of the match between Serb Filip Krajinovic and Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Now he will be replaced by the 94th racket of the world, Juan Ignacio Lawndero from Argentina.

Medvedev also had to practice for the first time this season in a pair with Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner, which he usually does very rarely.

In the absence of Medvedev, Russians Andrei Rublev, Aslan Karatsev and Karen Khachanov will continue to fight for the title in Monte Carlo.

The first two have already reached the 1/16 finals - Rublev thanks to a high position in the ranking, and Karatsev after defeating the Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

Khachanov, who got into one quarter of the grid with Medvedev, will face Serb Laszlo Jere in the first round.

For Medvedev, the Masters in Monte Carlo was supposed to be the first clay tournament of the season.

The pass will now definitely burn out 360 points in the ATP rankings, which he earned two years ago for reaching the semifinals.

Considering how poorly the Russian performs on earthen courts, this can be called a loss.

He has not yet won a single title on sand surfaces, and his share of victories in individual matches is only 36% - almost half as much as on hard.

Due to the coronavirus, Medvedev runs the risk of missing the equally important Masters in Madrid and Rome, as well as Roland Garros.

Initially, these competitions could be seen as a real chance for the 25-year-old athlete to compete for the title of the first racket of the world with Djokovic.

In all three tournaments, Medvedev was eliminated in the first round for the last time, so he hardly earned any points.

Serbs need to defend a lot of points, like Rafael Nadal, who pursues Medvedev in the world rankings.

The Masters and the second Grand Slam of the season will be held in May, and by then Medvedev will still be able to return to court.

However, it is not known how the coronavirus will affect his form, because now he can not only play, but also train.

Because of this, Medvedev will have to postpone the struggle for leadership in the ATP rating.

By the way, just a few hours before it became known about Medvedev's positive test, he held a joint training session with Nadal in Monte Carlo.

In this regard, the fans had concerns that the Spaniard would also withdraw from the tournament.

However, the press service of the ATP was quick to assure that the third racket of the world will perform in Monaco.

Now it is enough for Nadal to reach the final to displace Medvedev from the second place in the rating, and the Russian will not interfere with him.

However, if Daniel comes to his senses quickly enough and ATP is allowed on the court, then to compensate for the losses, he can show up for the next tournament in Barcelona.

Initially, Medvedev was not going to participate in it and was ready for the fact that because of this he would lose 300 points for reaching the final.

If he really recovers, then the organizers could provide him with wild cards that have not yet been allocated.