Nikolay Davydenko tells Russia’s R-Sport that after he retires, he might consider going into politics, like compatriot and former Grand Slam champion Marat Safin has done. Safin was elected to the Duma as a member of Russian Premier Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party in 2011.
“If they invite me into politics, I’ll go into politics,” Davydenko said. ”I’m not sure, of course, because politics is not exactly straightforward. You need to move in the right direction, where to go, what to do. But if the interest is there, I would go into it.”
Davydenko added that he would like to stay in the Russian tennis industry, but the federation has said that it’s underfunded and there are few opportunities.
“There it’s easier to go into business or into politics,” he said. “Because sport, tennis, at the moment is not really progressing. Everyone is firmly rooted to their spot and it’s very tough to budge someone from their place … Safin is doing well. He’s advancing, progressing. He hasn’t lost touch with us, he gets in contact quite a lot, I’ve been quite surprised.”