Medvedev, Rublev win Davis Cup for Russian Tennis Federation

Wins for Medvedev and Rublev gave the Russians their first Davis Cup title since 2006

AI / Reuters / Panoramic

December 5, 2021

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Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev wrote their names into Russian tennis history on Sunday as they won the Davis Cup for their country thanks to a 2-0 win over Croatia in Madrid.

Rublev beat Borna Gojo 6-4, 7-6 (5) to put the Russians in front and world No 2 Daniil Medvedev then sealed victory with a 7-6 (7), 6-2 win over former US Open champion Marin Cilic.

It’s the third Davis Cup title for the Russians – this time called Russian Tennis Federation – following their wins in 2002 and 2006.

“It feels amazing,” Medvedev said. “But I’m more happy for the team than myself. We have an amazing atmosphere, amazing atmosphere. I’m happy to be part of it and bring the points we need. It’s never easy to come here at the end of the season but they were some of the best weeks of my career.”

2002, 2006, 2021 🏆🏆🏆

RTF are World Champions for the third time! 🎾#DavisCupFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/LcJjse9frn
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) December 5, 2021

Medvedev crowns breakthrough year with huge win

With a 1-0 lead in the bag thanks to Rublev’s solid win, Medvedev went into his match with Cilic with confidence, having won all his matches in the competition.

The 2021 US Open champion had to be strong in the face of a push from the 2014 US Open winner as Cilic, having saved a break point at 4-3, forced a break point of his own in the next game. But Medvedev held on and then, in a tense tiebreak, took it 9-7 to move ahead.

That seemed to knock the stuffing out of Cilic and Medvedev broke twice to storm ahead and when the moment came, he served out for one of the biggest, most meaningful victories of his life.

“I can say that for all of us it’s very important to win here,” he said. “It’s still Davis Cup. We still see Novak playing. Rafa won it last time. No matter the format, the best players in the world happy to represent their country. Again, still Davis Cup 2021. We are the winners of it. That’s the most important.”

Medvedev and Cilic shake hands after Russia clinch victory in the Davis Cup final – AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Tiebreaks crucial for Croatia

Cilic said he was proud of his team-mates. “Three finals in five years, it’s just incredible for our small team,” he said.

And Croatia captain Vedran Martic said he wished it could have gone down to a deciding doubles, in which case Croatia might have had an advantage, with Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.

“We played best what we could today,” he said. “Match Borna against Rublev, Rublev is No. 5 in the world. Rublev played really well today match. Second set was very close tiebreak. Borna could win. Even if this shot was for him 6-4 in tiebreak, who knows what’s happens. That was very good. Marin first set was completely equal with Medvedev. Yeah, two tiebreak we lost, and that’s it.”