Russia ended a 15-year wait for Davis Cup title as Daniil Medvedev overcame Marin Cilic 7-6 (7), 6-2 in the Finals in Madrid on Sunday.
Medvedev’s win second singles match to help the Russian Tennis Federation take an invincible 2-0 lead over Croatia. Earlier, Andrey Rublev had set the wheels in motion, downing Borna Gojo 6-4, 7-6(5).
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“It feels amazing,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview.
“I am more happy for the team than myself. We have an amazing team with an amazing atmosphere and I am just happy to be able to be part of this team to win the points we needed.”
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It is Russia’s third Davis Cup title, and first since 2006.
👉 2002
👉 2006
👉 2021A trio of Davis Cup titles for RTF ⚪🔵🔴#DavisCupFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/AoYwWj4Ao3
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) December 6, 2021
Russia completed a sweep of team events after the women’s team won the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Prague last month. The last nation to do the double had been the Czech Republic in 2012.
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Russia had also won the ATP Cup at the start of the year.
Croatia, also seeking their third title, had stunned Novak Djokovic-led Serbia in the semi-finals.
The triumph also capped a special week for Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev, the longest-serving Davis Cup captain.
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He first captained in 1974, and appeared in his 100th match as captain in the semifinals against Germany.
The Russian team is officially being called RTF (Russian Tennis Federation) in the competition amid its ongoing doping suspension in international sport.
