The Cincinnati Reds-Daniil Medvedev team-support combination may be one of the most unlikely in all of sports.
But it’s very real.
Medvedev has been a fan of the Reds — a diehard one, in fact — since attending one of their baseball games with Cincinnati Open tournament director Bob Moran last summer. The tennis schedule and also the time change when Medvedev is in Europe make it difficult to watch games, but the Russian catches them whenever possible.
“Whenever they play early [in Cincinnati], I can watch it in Europe at night,” he said in an interview with the Cincinnati tournament website. “It’s actually perfect timing — especially if I’m back home. It’s like 8:00 pm, the kids go to sleep, I turn on the baseball and I enjoy it. It’s so relaxing. You just lay down, watch it a bit, take a two-minute break during commercials and do something. I like it.”
Medvedev proved his fandom during an interview on the Tennis Channel desk earlier this week.
Medvedev threw out the first pitch prior to Monday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, which the Reds ended up winning 6-5 in 10 innings.
“It doesn’t compare to the serve, but since tennis is a game with a ball, we’re still pretty talented with throwing things around,” the 30-year-old said beforehand. “I’m pretty confident I can make a good pitch. But you never know, because I’ve never been on a mound. Apparently, it’s higher. The ball could slip out of my hand, you never know. You get only one chance. But it’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m going to enjoy it.”
Medvedev will face Brandon Nakashima in the Cincinnati third round on Tuesday afternoon.
very good pitch