JAKARTA - Russia's Daniil Medvedev has called for peace around the world after a roller-coaster day when he was confirmed as world number 1 while his home country invaded Ukraine.
US Open champion Medvedev, who plays in Acapulco, Mexico, hours after Djokovic's quarter-final defeat in Dubai that will see the 26-year-old replace him at the top of the men's rankings on Monday, admits it's not easy watching the news.
"By becoming a tennis player, I want to promote peace around the world," Medvedev said after reaching the semifinals of the ATP 500 tournament by beating Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka.
"We played in so many different countries. I have played in so many different countries as a junior and a professional. It is not easy to hear all this news. I support peace."
His compatriot Andrey Rublev, ranked seventh in the world, teamed up with Ukraine's Denys Molchanov to win the doubles title in Marseille last week.
"It's amazing because I think people should stick together and that's the most important thing," Medvedev said, referring to the collaboration between Rublev and Molchanov.
"In this moment, you understand that tennis is sometimes not so important," he said, adding that he wanted to win his matches.
"It was definitely not easy to play and I'm happy that I managed to win the game. It was a day that was a bit of a roller-coaster."
Rublev said he had gotten some bad comments online because of the situation in Ukraine.
"In this moment you realize that my match doesn't matter. It's not about my match, how it affects me. What happened was much more terrible," Rublev said after his win over American Mackenzie McDonald at the Dubai Championships Thursday night.
"You realize how important it is for world peace and for mutual respect no matter what, to be united. This is about that. We have to take care of our earth and each other. This is the most important thing."
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