Daniil Medvedev arranges for his PlayStation friend Alexander Shevchenko to get a visa and join Russia at the 2022 ATP Cup
Daniil Medvedev has revealed how he extended a helping hand to Alexander Shevchenko to ensure the World No. 328 was part of the Russian team for the 2022 ATP Cup.
Talking to ATPTour.com, Medvedev revealed that this would be his first time meeting Shevchenko in person, although the two have been PlayStation mates for a while.
"Alexander Shevchenko and I are really good virtual friends because we play a lot of PlayStation together," Daniil Medvedev said. "But it is going to be the first time I meet him in real life."
Daniil Medvedev further said that he has been helping the 21-year-old with his visa process. Russia added Shevchenko to their ATP Cup roster at the last minute to cover for Andrey Rublev and Aslan Karatsev, who pulled out for COVID-19-related reasons.
No. 328 Alexander Shevchenko (bottom left) is the latest addition to Team Russia in Sydney. Judging by his IG story, he flew from Doha yesterday. https://t.co/IB12KnzXVI
That meant Shevchenko had to get his visa to Australia approved in just a couple of days, which is why he sought help from his team's No. 1 player. Daniil Medvedev also hailed his PlayStation buddy as a "great kid", citing his easy-going and fun nature.
"Shevchenko seems really funny and easy going. We were texting a lot in the past few days because I was helping him with his visa as he needed to get it within one or two days," Medvedev said. "He is really happy to come and is a great kid."
Alongside Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Shevchenko has joined the likes of Roman Safiullin and Evgeny Karlovskiy to complete Russia's squad at the 2022 ATP Cup.
Daniil Medvedev marked his 2021 US Open win with a FIFA celebration
It is no secret that Daniil Medvedev is an ardent gamer. The World No. 2 has previously spoken about his love for playing FIFA on his PlayStation and took things to the next level at the 2021 US Open final.
After defeating Novak Djokovic to win his first Grand Slam title, Daniil Medvedev performed the "dead fish" celebration. Medvedev revealed in the post-match conference that he was inspired after talking to other young players on the tour who shared his interest in gaming.
"I like to play FIFA. I like to play PlayStation. It's called the dead fish celebration...I talked to the guys in the locker room," Medvedev said. "They play FIFA. They were like, 'That's legendary!'"
No, I can’t stop being amazed by the fact we have World No. 2 who ended his GS winning speech with L2+Left, then explained it to boomers at press conference & now arranged for his PlayStation friend, who he had never met offline, to get 🇦🇺 visa to join Russian team at ATP Cup 😭 https://t.co/yZyAhJzN09
Daniil Medvedev included it in his on-court speech following the win as well. The 25-year-old mentioned the "L2 + left" controls in the game that would prompt the celebration upon scoring a goal, adding that only "legends will understand" what he did.