The Russian Tennis Federation set up a semifinal against Germany on Saturday. Top 10 players Andrey Rublev and Danil Medvedev won their singles matches beating respectively the two Swedish brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer.
Andrey Rublev battled past world number 171 Elias Yimer 6-2 5-7 7-6 (7-3) in a very close match after 2 hours and 11 minutes to give Russia a 1-0 lead over Sweden in the opening quarter final match at the Davis Cup by Rakuten.
Rublev converted two of his three break points to win the opening set 6-2 in 26 minutes. Ymer earned his first break on his fourth opportunity in the second game of the second set to open up a 2-0 lead. Rublev broke twice in the third and seventh games to open up a 5-3 lead. Ymer broke straight back in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5, as Rublev was serving for the match at 5-4. Rublev was not able to close it out as Ymer won three consecutive games to seal the second set 7-5 levelling the score to 1-1.
Rublev did not face a single break point in the decider. Ymer saved all seven break points he faced in the seventh and ninth games of the third set, which went on serve en route to the tie-break. Rublev won the decisive tie-break 7-3 with two mini-breaks.
“There is a lot of pressure when you know that you have to win and your opponent has nothing to lose. Today was a super tough match. I did not manage to finish the match when I had really great chance. Serving for the match, I relax a bit when I shouldn’t do this. I missed some easy forehands that normally you are not missing, if you are focused and you are doing everything right. I brought him back to the game. Then he started to believe in himself, he started to play much better”, said Rublev.
This year’s US Open champion Danil Medevdev overcame Mikael Ymer 6-4 6-4 with two breaks in the first set and three breaks in the second set to send Russia into the semifinal. Medvedev earned his first break in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Ymer converted his second break point in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Medvedev won the final three games thanks to a break of serve to seal the second set 6-4.
Medvedev went up a 3-0 lead with a double break in the first and third games. Ymer pulled one break back in the fourth game and consolidated the break with a hold of serve. Medvedev held serve at 15 before earning a double break to open up a 5-2 lead. Ymer clawed one of the two breaks back with a lob winner. Ymer chased down a couple of drop shots from Medvedev. The Russian star sealed the second set 6-4 with an ace. Medvedev has won all six sets in this year’s edition of the Davis Cup. Medvedev recorded his third consecutive straight-set win for Medvedev, who beat Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta and Ecuqdor’s Emilio Gomez in the round round group.
“Today I should have served better, but I am really happy to bring the point to the team. The most important thing is that we are winning a lot of matches. We didn’t lose a tie in the group and we are looking forward to Saturday”, said Medvedev.
