Medvedev and Rublev to Face Off on Russian Soil at Moscow WOW Cup
Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev will face each other in Moscow at the WOW Cup on December 5, marking their first match on Russian soil since 2019.
Top Russian tennis stars Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev are set to face each other on home soil for the first time since 2019 at the upcoming 'WOW Cup' exhibition tournament in Moscow on December 5. The event will also feature tennis players Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova, who now represents Austria, marking a rare high-profile tennis showcase in Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ahead of their anticipated clash, the longtime friends reflected on their childhood impressions of one another. Rublev recalled their first encounter as young children, sharing an amusing memory of their early rivalry: 'I was five or six years old, playing in some local tournament. Danya wore a sleeveless shirt and had only one racket. I told myself he was playing me in the quarterfinals and there was no way I would lose. I lost the second set and burst into tears in the bathroom in front of my mom.'
Medvedev vividly remembered Rublev's notorious on-court intensity, noting that seeing Rublev's outbursts helped him recognize his own behavior. Rublev praised Medvedev as a remarkably kind, humble, and intelligent individual who has remained unchanged since childhood, while the US Open champion commended Rublev's extensive charity work and dedication to signing autographs for fans.
Rublev also shared a lighthearted anecdote involving Karen Khachanov during a training stint in Barcelona, where a humorous betting game over laughing cost him money due to his friends' playful rules. Concluding on a warm note, Rublev emphasized that tennis forged an unbreakable bond between them, highlighted by Medvedev asking him to be the godfather of his son.
