MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. Russia’s tennis star Daniil Medvedev ponders a career as an amateur auto race driver if he decides to hang up his racquet, the Russian player said at a news conference at a tennis tournament in Italy.
Playing at his opening match of the 2023 ATP (the Association of Tennis Professionals) Finals tournament in Italy’s Turin on Monday night, Medvedev blasted past his compatriot Andrey Rublev with straight sets win of 6-4; 6-2.
Asked at a news conference after the match about his plans in case he decides to leave behind the career of a tennis player, Medvedev said he would try numerous options including in the areas of a sports commentator, a coach and most likely in motorsports.
"I will have to try many things after my career to see what I like because I want to do something I like," the Russian tennis player told a news conference. "I think commentator could be something I can try. I don't know if I'm going to like it. If I'm not going to like it, I'm going to say, Okay, I don't do it."
"Same about coaching. I don't know if I could be a good coach, but I would like to try it one day," he continued.
However, Russia’s top racquet Medvedev said that he would definitely pursue his dream of becoming an auto race driver.
"What I for sure will try to do, depends how my life goes, but I will try to be an amateur racing driver. That's my dream," he said.
"For sure I cannot go professional anywhere. But some like Ferrari Challenge or whatever, where you pay money and you race throughout the whole year on the best tracks of the world, this I'm going to do with some of my friends," he added.
According to various media reports, Medvedev is an ardent supporter of auto racing, enjoys karting and visited the 2023 FIA Formula One Grand Prix in Spain’s Barcelona in September.
Medvedev, 27, is currently third in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Rankings List. In 2022, the top Russian racket was the number one-ranked tennis player in the world for 16 weeks. He is the 2021 US Open Champion and has 20 ATP tournament titles under his belt. He has won five of those 20 titles just this year. Also, in 2021, he won the Davis Cup as well as the ATP Cup playing for the Russian national team.
The ATP Finals is the season-ending event bringing together the top-ranked tennis players in singles and doubles competitions. It is scheduled to be played on indoor hard courts in the Italian city of Turin between November 12 and 19 and offers $14.75 million in prize money.