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Former ATP World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev has said that he has supported Bayern Munich since he was around 12.
Medvedev, 28, is one of the best men's tennis players on tour, having won his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2021. Meanwhile, Bayern are one of the top football clubs in the world, dominating both the domestic and continental landscape.
Thomas Tuchel's side, though, haven't had the best of campaigns this year. Trailing runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayer Levekusen by a whopping 10 points with as many games to go, Bayern also have work to do in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie, trailing 1-0 from the first leg away.
Meanwhile, ahead of his participation in the year's first ATP Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells, Medvedev told Eurosport (via MiaSanMia) that he fell in love with football and Bayern at a very early age:
"I really fell in love with football and with Bayern when I was maybe 12 years old. That's when it really started. But even before that, when I was 6 years old, I remember that I already liked Bayern.
They were really good at that time, and I remember telling my parents that Bayern is playing, we need to watch it. But when I was 12, I really got into football, so I said to myself: 'I need a team now'.
Admitting that he also supported another football team, Daniil Medvedev explained why he rekindled his childhood love for Bayern:
"When I was younger I supported CSKA Moscow, but they were not playing in the Champions League or when they were playing in it, they would often lose.
"So I needed a team in Europe that I could support and be a fan of. So I remembered that I really liked Bayern and said: 'That's my team now'. That's how I chose my team, and, from that point on, obviously, I started to really like certain players of Bayern, and it became bigger and bigger for me."
Bayern take on Lazio in the Round of 16 second leg at home on Tuesday (March 5).
How Daniil Medvedev and Bayern Munich have fared in 2024
World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev has had an impressive start to his 2024 season, losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final after leading by two sets.
The 28-year-old suffered his second loss of the season at the Dubai Championships last week, losing in straight sets to Ugo Humbert in the semifinals, to fall to 9-2 in 2024.
Meanwhile, Bayern have had a torrid season. Having exited the DFB-Pokal early, losing the DFL-Super Cup final and trailing in the Bundesliga race, the Champions League is their only realistic hope of silverware.
Since the turn of the year, Bayern have won only five of their 10 games across competitions. A damaging run of three straight defeats last month led to the club announcing Tuchel's departure at the end of the season.
