Daniil Medvedev, big league hurler

​2019 CINCINNATI OPEN CHAMP SET TO THROW OUT FIRST PITCH AT REDS GAME

By Richard Osborn

It’s intimidating enough to face Daniil Medvedev when he’s smacking serves at you from the other side of the net on a tennis court. Just imagine what it would be like to go up against him on a baseball diamond, the lanky 6-foot-6 baseliner-turned-hurler firing fastballs at you from the pitcher’s mound.

We’ll get a glimpse of just that on Monday. The Muscovite, 30, is scheduled to throw out the first pitch before a Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals game at Great American Ball Park.

“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,” laughed Medvedev, moments after opening up his 2026 Cincinnati Open campaign with a 6-4, 7-5 dismissal of Argentine qualifier Marco Trungelliti. “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 says he was throwing a baseball around earlier this year during some down time at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, and paid the price when he woke up the following morning with a sore elbow.

Welcome to the life of a Major League ballplayer.

The clocks don’t always align, but when they do, Medvedev says he tunes into Reds games when he’s out globetrotting on the ATP Tour. Now making his 10th appearance at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, he’s become a diehard fan of the local MLB team, and has even been spotted with a Reds jersey at Wimbledon. He’s in it for the long haul, winning streaks, batting slumps and all.

“Whenever they play early here, I can watch it in Europe at night. It’s actually perfect timing,” he said. “Especially if I’m back home. It’s like 8 p.m., 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.”

Luckily, Medvedev has some high-level instruction for his first pitch, including Reds starter Andrew Abbott.

“Don’t think about it too much,” recommended Abbott, an All-Star in 2025, when he finished eighth in Cy Young Award voting. “Just let the athleticism take over. He’s extremely talented, so I don’t think we need to give him much advice. Just aim a little bit higher than normal, a little bit higher than the net, and drop it in. I’m excited to see that and put him in our element for a little bit.”

“It is crazy similar to a serve. Crazy similar,” added Reds reliever Tejay Antone, who’s overcome not one but three Tommy John surgeries. “But the mound may throw him off. You just kind of step down. It’s not that far.”

As far as tennis-to-baseball athleticism is concerned, both Abbott and Antone are clearly impressed by their counterparts.

“Hand-eye has got to be top tier,” said Abbott. “Hitting their serves as hard as they do with spin, knowing the placement, being able to move side-to-side, up-and-back, and having to do it for a very long time — it’s super impressive. I’m jealous of how athletic they are, but I don’t want to be in their shoes: I would hate to have to return to that kind of stuff.”