Malafeev considers Daniil Medvedev the main Russian athlete in 2022

Former Zenit goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev named tennis player Daniil Medvedev the main Russian athlete in 2022.

In 2022, Medvedev won the ATP 250 tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico, but for 15 weeks he was the first racket of the world – this is a record for Russian tennis players.

– It seems to me that back in the days of the USSR we had quite good results in skiing, maybe not so noticeable in recent years, but still. Chess is also a sport where our grandmasters have shown themselves in the past. Hockey is also a Russian sport, we have many players who play at a high level. The quality of hockey in Russia is quite high, although recently, for various reasons, there have not been so many high international results. Therefore, taking into account the resistance, the level of rivals, and the fact that tennis is still not quite a Russian sport, Medvedev will come first for me, – Malafeev told Sport Day by Day.

— I would not say that this year someone really shocked me. In principle, this is very difficult to do in the current conditions due to the pressure on Russian sports. I think that Medvedev and Ovechkin are now in the spotlight. But if we talk about very young guys who have achieved something, then this year this was not the case, – added Malafeev.

Medvedev, 26, has won 14 ATP titles, including the 2021 US Open.