[ad_1]
FILE – Russia’s Daniil Medvedev hits a forehand against Chinese Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu (not pictured) in the second round of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The new world number two in men’s tennis has a new look to accompany his ranking, but Russian Daniil Medvedev is not sure how long he will keep the mustache he sports at the Miami Open.
Medvedev replaced Rafa Nadal at No. 2 last week, becoming the first player outside of Spain’s Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to make the top two since Lleyton Hewitt in July 2005.
He came to Florida with his new mustache for the ATP Masters 1000 event, after number one Djokovic retired to spend more time with his family.
“Last year, at the beginning of the year, I was doing a photoshoot and they were shaving me for the photoshoot, and they just left the mustache for a few minutes,” Medvedev told reporters after Friday’s victory over Yen- Hsun Lu from Taiwan.
“I was like, ‘It’s not that bad.’ It was a little different because they had special razors and stuff. So I think it looked better. From that point on I always thought, ‘okay, one day I’ll just do it for fun for a tournament or something like that.’
“So probably after Miami I’m going to shave them off, but for this tournament it will be like that and let’s see what people say.”
Medvedev reached his second major final at the Australian Open last month thanks to a 20-win streak in which he captured trophies at the Paris Masters, ATP Finals and ATP Team Cup.
After falling in straight sets to Djokovic in Melbourne, Medvedev suffered a surprise defeat in Rotterdam before winning his 10th Tour title in Marseille.
Medvedev is 15-2 on the season and only his compatriot Andrey Rublev, who also ranks eighth in his career-best standings, has more wins in 2021.
“I think it’s great for both of us that we are doing so well. Russian tennis is definitely on the rise right now, and I like it, ”Medvedev said.
“We want people to talk more about tennis in Russia. That is what is happening right now. We want television to show more tennis in Russia. That is one of the objectives. “
RELATED STORIES
Read next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
