Tennis star Daniil Medvedev, his family and his team and stuck in Dubai a day after he won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, his 23rd career ATP title.
Tallon Griekspoor, who withdrew from the title match due to injury and Andrey Rublev are also stranded in Dubai after the airspace shut down because of conflict in the middle-east region involving the US, Israel and Iran.
The former world No.1 told Bolshe Tennis that he has no idea when he will be able to fly out of the United Arab Emirates. Medvedev and other players are expected to participate at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, starting Wednesday.
“The situation is unusual, but basically, the only thing is that the airspace is closed, naturally,” Medvedev told Bolshe Tennis. “So, no-one knows when we’ll be able to fly out. It’s not clear whether this will last long or not.
“We’re just waiting to see what happens in the coming hours or days. They keep gradually pushing back the airport reopening time.”
In such a scenario the 2021 US Open winner has managed to remain calm and says “everything is normal”.
“As strange as that sounds, on the court, I’m very emotional, but in real life, it might actually help me to be more emotional at times — so, for me, everything is normal,” Medvedev said.
“Naturally, I’ve received a lot of messages from friends and family, and everyone is worried, but I can say for my part that everything is fine.”
Medvedev was also scheduled to play in the Eisenhower Cup mixed doubles exhibition at Indian Wells on Tuesday, along with his mixed doubles partner Mirra Andreeva, the young WTA star. Rublev is also drawn to participate in the Eisenhower Cup, but with the airspace shut their participation looks doubtful.
Reportedly, boubles players Harri Heliovaara (Finland), Mate Pavic (Croatia), Henry Patten (Great Britain) and Marcelo Arevalo (El Salvador) are also stranded in Dubai, including several coaches, officials and tennis journalists.
