Against the backdrop of repeated provocations and disdain for Russian athletes at international competitions, you do not expect to see the manifestation of the most ordinary human solidarity that goes beyond politics and national discrimination.

However, there are exceptions. And sometimes they become not only unexpected, but even very pleasant. At the Erste Bank Open tennis tournament match in Vienna, the first racket of Georgia, Nikoloz Basilashvili, supported the first racket of Russia, Daniil Medvedev.

A real man’s act from Nikoloz!

Closed your name

Georgian tennis player Nikoloz Basilashvili, who is the winner of five ATP tournaments in singles and the first racket of Georgia, covered his name on the scoreboard with a towel during a meeting with Daniil Medvedev. Apparently, Nikoloz did this as a sign of solidarity with the Russian athlete.

The match between the Georgian and the Russian was held in Vienna as part of the 1/16 finals of the Erste Bank Open. Daniil, despite all the doubts about his form after the recent removal from the ATP tournament in Astana, confidently defeated his opponent with a score of 2:0 (6:2, 6:2). Medvedev dealt with Basilashvili in just an hour.

Nikoloz Basilashvili / Photo: © IMAGO / Mathias Schulz / imago-images.de / Global Look Press

From the start, the Russian attacked the opponent and after a few minutes led 3:0. In the future, Daniil confidently took his serves and created serious problems for the opponent on someone else’s. He ended up making four breaks with ten aces and two double faults.

The meeting of athletes would hardly have attracted special attention of the fans, if not for the act of the Georgian. According to the tradition of this tournament, the names of the players are written in their native language, but the name of the Russian tennis player, quite expectedly, was indicated in Latin. The name and surname of Basilashvili were highlighted in Georgian.

During one of the breaks, Nikoloz drew attention to this small, but still unpleasant injustice: the Georgian tennis player covered the screen on which his name was displayed with a black towel, and then continued the match. Basilashvili’s act causes great respect, but at the same time fears because of the possible persecution of Nikoloz at home. Let’s hope that the wave of hate will still bypass the Georgian athlete.