BERLIN, June 16. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev enjoyed an opening round win at the 2025 Terra Wortmann Open tennis tournament in Germany on Monday, trouncing Daniel Altmaier of Germany in straight sets.
Russia’s Medvedev, who is playing as a neutral at the tournament, needed less than an hour to defeat wildcard Altmaier on the grass courts of his country’s home soil 6-3; 6-3.
"I felt great, honestly. I think I played a great match," the ATP’s press office quoted Medvedev as saying after his match against Altmaeir.
"Some moments where I had to be decisive, I managed to do it," Medvedev noted. "Some moments where I had to save some break points and things like that, I managed to do it, so I’m very happy with my match and looking forward to the next one."
In the next round, the Russian will play against France’s Quentin Halys, who earlier cruised to his own straight-sets win against compatriot Benjamin Bonzi 6-4; 6-4.
Medvedev, 29, is currently the 11th-ranked player in the world, according to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He spent sixteen weeks as the number one player in the world in 2022.
He is the 2021 US Open Champion and has 20 ATP tournament titles under his belt. He won five of these 20 titles in 2023. Also, in 2021, he won the Davis Cup as well as the ATP Cup playing for the Russian national team.
The 2025 Terra Wortmann Open tennis tournament, an ATP-500 event, takes place on grass courts in the German city of Halle between June 16 and 22 and offers over 2.5 million euros (some $2.9 million) in prize money. Italy’s Jannik Sinner is the reigning men's champion.
"It even feels a bit strange. I’m a bit scared of overdoing it too much, going to sleep and missing the match! So it’s a fun tournament and I’m always happy to come back," the ATP’s statement quoted Medvedev as saying after the match as he spoke about the venue in Germany.
"It’s a very convenient place to play tennis. You stay in a hotel two minutes from the practice courts and two minutes away from center court," the Russian tennis player said. "So it’s the only tournament in the year where after your warmup you even go back to your hotel room."
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.