sport news OLIVER HOLT: Wimbledon's ban may be unfair but it prevents a huge triumph for ... trends now
It was just before midday on Thursday in Paris when Daniil Medvedev walked on to Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros for his second-round match against Laslo Djere and waved to the arena, which was a little more than half full. He was accompanied by a child, just as his opponent had been, and the child was dressed all in white, like an angel. It was Ascension Day in France, a public holiday.
Medvedev was greeted with warm applause. After the warm-up, he walked to the baseline to begin the match and a voice shouted out 'Allez Daniil' and it was followed by others. There was no animosity towards him because he is a Russian playing at a time when his country's army is laying waste to swathes of Ukraine.
There was respect for his ability and his status as the world No 2 and the US Open champion. Nothing else.
Wimbledon have banned Russian players from taking part, a move affecting Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev still distrusts the way the ball behaves on the red clay of the French Open but he won in straight sets and the crowd rose to acclaim him as he acknowledged each of the stands.
Mats Wilander, a great former champion here, complimented him warmly in their post-match interview, conducted in English, and, at the end of it, Medvedev said a few words in French, which were well received. On his way off court, he signed every giant green tennis ball thrust at him by kids who had rushed to get his autograph.
Afterwards in the press centre, he was erudite and humble. He was asked, randomly, about his fear of spiders and he used the question to talk about fear in general. 'A lot of the mistakes we make in life,' Medvedev said, 'are because we are scared of something... Fear is what we feel every day in tennis. Maybe it's when you're scared to lose. But I am not scared of much right now in my life.'
The objections to the All England Club are just caveats, but players involved will get over it
He even seemed to have made peace with the prospect that he will not be able to play Wimbledon next month because the tournament, unlike the French Open, has banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing. Medvedev said he would still love to play at the All England Club but if that were not possible, he would return home and practise.
If he has made peace with the prospect of his ban, tennis has not. Nor has the world of sport in general. Punishing a blameless individual for the actions of a nation may not be philosophically untenable but it is hard to bear and has led to the ATP and the WTA, the governing bodies of men's and women's tennis, withholding ranking points for England's Grand Slam.
Those who are vehemently opposed to Wimbledon's ban, which will affect not just Medvedev but Andrey Rublev, Aryna Sabalenka and others, point out that even during the apartheid era in South Africa, South African tennis players and golfers were allowed to continue competing on the world stage. Kevin Curren reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 1983, while he was still a South African citizen.
In the end, though, these objections to the All England Club decision are just caveats. The ban is not fair but then - and I'm sorry to be reductive - try talking about fairness to the families of Ukrainian civilians murdered by indiscriminate Russian shelling or tortured and killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha. It's not fair, but Medvedev will get over it.
The choice is right and stops Vladimir Putin from weaponising sport as he has done in the past
I don't like the All England Club's decision but I believe it's right. Medvedev is playing at Roland
