Exhausted Medvedev pulls out of Kremlin Cup in Moscow

As expected, world No 2 Daniil Medvedev will not play in his hometown event, the Kremlin Cup, next week.

The US Open champion dropped a heavy hint that he needed a rest after losing in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open to Grigor Dimitrov and the news was confirmed on Friday.

“I did sign (for Moscow) because I haven’t played there since 2018,” Medvedev said after his loss in Indian Wells. “It’s my hometown, so I wanted to give myself a chance.

“To be honest, yeah, I did feel exhausted this tournament, which of course I will never say before matches, so now I can say it. I did feel tired, and there were a few things coming up during the tournament in terms of my physical….I need to take care of my body.”

With big points on offer at the Rolex Paris Masters and then at the ATP Finals in Turin, Medvedev still has a mathematical chance to overtake Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings before the end of the year.

However the fact that Djokovic is reportedly planning to return to action in Paris may limit his chances.

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