Daniil Medvedev is having a stellar end to his 2023 season. After reaching the US Open finals, the rangy Russian reached the finals of the China Open and the Vienna Open, where he lost to Jannik Sinner in both tournaments. During the US Open, Medvedev opened up in an on-court interview about his love for gaming.
The world no. 3 is an avid gamer, spending most of his downtime playing tennis glued to his television screen and vigorously manipulating a PlayStation joystick with his hand. Thus, it was a no-brainer that the Rainbow Six: Siege fan would get into the business of esports and play an important role in collaborating with brands.
Daniil Medvedev joins M80
Daniil Medvedev’s competitive streak doesn’t extend to the tennis court alone, as he is one of the world’s biggest Rainbow Six: Siege players. In fact, he ranks among the top 3% of the game’s players worldwide.
In a move that would appeal to any hardened gamer, Daniil Medvedev joined the ownership group of the Boston-based esports organization M80. The 2021 US Open champion will serve as an advisor on esports endeavors and offer expert insight into sports psychology for the company’s teams.
“There is only one Daniil Medvedev and we are excited to call him a co-owner and partner in M80,” M80 founder and CEO Marco Mereu said.
“Daniil’s success in tennis is well documented but his passion and understanding for esports and gaming is something people are going to quickly find out about,” he added.
This isn’t Daniil’s first foray into the business, as he was named the ambassador of the Rainbow Six: Siege game for Ubisoft last August. The 27-year-old joins a prestigious list of elite athletes like David Beckham (Guild Esports), Lionel Messi, and Sergio Aguero (KRÜ Esports) who co-own esports businesses.
On the tennis front, Medvedev recently played the Paris Masters and has flown to Turin, Italy, to take part in the Nitto ATP Finals.
Medvedev’s Nitto ATP Finals group, fixtures
As world no. 3, Daniil Medvedev immediately qualified for the year-ending Nitto ATP Finals tournament. He will battle it out with fellow top-eight players for the coveted title and a maximum of 1500 ATP points.
The Nitto ATP Finals draw was recently announced and Daniil Medvedev has found himself in a tough group of young champions. He along with Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev form the red group. The green group consists of Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune
As of now, the first two days of the schedule have been released and Daniil Medvedev will play his opening fixture against fellow Russian Andrey Rublev on Monday, November 13. The match will not begin before 9:30 PM BST.
Medvedev will also play the other two athletes from his group in the round-robin stage. The top two players from either group will qualify for the semifinals on Saturday, November 18. The final will be held on Sunday, November 19.
A final win will earn the champion $2,201,000 in cash prize and if he is an undefeated champion he will earn $4,801,500.
What are your opinions on Daniil Medvedev’s new venture as an owner of an esports company? Let us know in the comments section below.
