Daniil Medvedev Reveals Why Andrey Rublev Was Chosen to Play Mixed Doubles at Tokyo Olympics 2020

While Daniil Medvedev has reached the quarterfinals in the singles event of the Tokyo Olympic Games, he opted to withdraw from the mixed doubles event.?As a result of his withdrawal, Andrey Rublev will take his place as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s doubles partner.

The Russian contingent has a strong chance of winning medals in tennis this year. The likes of Rublev, Pavlyuchenkova and Medvedev are all looking strong in their respective events.

Daniil Medvedev on why Andrey Rublev is a better candidate for mixed doubles

Despite losing out on a chance to score an additional medal, Medvedev does regret not taking part in the mixed doubles event. Instead, he is happy with Rublev taking his place and thinks the latter has a better chance in the doubles category.

“To be honest, I think Andrey plays better mixed doubles than me. He lost in the singles ? and we were still in the singles at the time. It was a smart decision to put him in, so I?m not disappointed but if I would need to play, I would play,” said Medvedev on his decision to let Rublev play.

The World No.2 is still going strong in the men’s singles category and is agonizingly close to securing a medal for his country.

Watch This Story:?How Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and Others Travel

Medal challenge for Medvedev in Tokyo

Tomorrow, Daniil will play Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, who beat Dominik Koepfer of Germany in his third-round game. Daniil, the second seed, will be aiming for a high finish in Tokyo. His only potential challenge would be Novak Djokovic in the finals, assuming he makes it all the way to the last stage of the event.

The Russian will be hoping for a podium finish at the Games, especially after a poor summer in England. He lost out in the round of 16 stage at the Wimbledon Championships.

Read More: ?If I Die Who Will Take Responsibility?: Daniil Medvedev Toils Against Fabio Fognini at Tokyo Olympics 2020