DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tennis player Andrey Rublev wrote “No War Please” on a TV camera moments after advancing to the final at the Dubai Championships on Friday, a sentiment echoed a few hours later by NHL star and fellow Russian Alex Ovechkin in the U.S.
The seventh-ranked Rublev had just beaten Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) in their semifinal when he wrote his message on the camera, a common practice after matches.
Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday in an invasion that has fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop.