Barcelona | Medvedev takes time off

Following his surprising defeat in Monaco when he tamely lost his Monte Carlo Master’s quarter final clash with Holger Rune, Daniil Medvedev has decided he needs a rest and has pulled out of this week’s Barcelona Open citing fatigue as the reason.

That isn’t surprising considering the number of matches the 27-year-old Russian had played this season, by far the most of any of the current active competitors on the 2023 ATP Tour.

So far he has contested 35 matches winning 31 of them which also is the most of any of his rivals.

Jannik Sinner is the closest with 24 victories from 29 matches and he is followed by Taylor Fritz with 19 wins from 24.

In announcing his withdrawal from Barcelona, an ATP 500 event, he said:

“I’m really sorry I won’t be able to play Barcelona this year. I have amazing memories from the last time I played in 2019. I hope to be back next year and hopefully play good there.”

Last year, he was forced to skip almost the full clay-court season as he underwent surgery for a hernia, so this year presents a unique opportunity for him to add to his ranking points and improve his chances of returning to the top of the world rankings again.

On Monday, Medvedev is projected to rise to fourth when the latest world listings are published but remains first in the 2023 Race for the November ATP Finals in Turin.