Daniil Medvedev, the former world No. 1, recently revealed a bizarre injury that occurred during his qualifying match at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships. While preparing to face wild card Marcus Willis, Medvedev accidentally hit his head on a cage at Aorangi Park, causing a bloody wound on his arm.
Despite the injury, Medvedev played the match the following day but lost to Willis in four sets. Willis went on to make history by reaching the second round and facing Roger Federer on Centre Court.
Medvedev’s injury remained a secret until now, but he shared the story after witnessing Novak Djokovic’s head injury from a falling water bottle at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The incident reminded Medvedev of his own mishap, which he believes may have contributed to his loss against Willis.
“You always ask yourself after the match, ‘Did I lose yesterday because I hit my head or not?'” Medvedev said. “That’s a story which no one knew about. It’s not a bad story either, but a story that I remember, yeah.”
Despite the injury, Medvedev has gone on to achieve great success, including winning the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in 2021. He is now the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will face Hamad Medjedovic in the round of 16.
Medvedev also expressed his dislike for the dirty conditions of clay courts, but acknowledged that he is enjoying them more and more.
