Daniil Medvedev pulls out of Vienna after banking £1.2m for one exhibition match

Daniil Medvedev has withdrawn from the Vienna Open days after banking £1.2million for playing one match at the Six Kings Slam. The world No. 5 recently injured his shoulder but turned up to the Saudi Arabia exhibition event where he lost to Jannik Sinner on Wednesday. He then pulled out of next week’s ATP 500 event in Vienna, where he reached the final 12 months ago. Medvedev was part of the star-studded line-up for this week’s Saudi exhibition with Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune. Their participation was confirmed back in February but Medvedev’s attendance appeared uncertain when he picked up a fresh injury at the recent Shanghai Masters and cast doubts over his upcoming tournaments. The former US Open champion ultimately made it to Saudi Arabia and faced Sinner in the quarter-final. But he only spent an hour and nine minutes on the court, losing 6-0 6-3 and smashing his racket in the process. By losing his opening match, Medvedev didn’t need to hang around for any playoffs and left Riyadh with his £1.2m appearance fee. And he promptly pulled out of the Vienna Open citing shoulder problems. The 28-year-old first raised injury concerns after losing to Sinner in the Shanghai Masters quarter-final. “I, unfortunately, had pain on my shoulder, which I didn't think I would have,” he said after the match. “It started yesterday during the match, but I thought it was nothing, and I still think, well, I still hope it's nothing serious, I'll have to do the checks tomorrow.” At the time, Medvedev was signed up for three more tournaments - the Six Kings Slam, the Vienna Open and the Paris Masters. But he admitted he might not compete. “Let's see if I play them, especially the problems with the shoulder, the problems, well, this, they started yesterday,” the world No. 5 added.