The team of the Russian Tennis Federation will play for the second consecutive edition the semifinals of the Davis Cup, after beating on the fast track (2-0) to Sweden this Thursday at the Madrid Arena. On Saturday (13:00) they will face Germany in the fight to reach their sixth final as an independent country in the competition.
Andrey Rublev put the souls of his teammates on edge, who were counting on his victory more or less easy. But it happened again to the Muscovite who trains Fernando Vicente in the quarterfinals against the Swede Elias Ymer, the same as in the group stage against the Ecuadorian Quiroz and the Spanish Feliciano López. After winning the first set with ease, he was diluted and was about to lose as it happened against Toledo. This time he saved the furniture in extremis, in the tiebreaker of the third set, and advanced his team: 6-2, 5-7 and 7-6 (3). In this way, Daniil Medvedev could get the Russians into the semifinals if he beat Mikael Ymer, predictably. And he did not fail (double 6-4 in 73 minutes). That is why the unnecessary doubles point was not contested.
Bad mood
Rublev was surprised by the aggressiveness of a rival who grew as the minutes passed by seeing that the level of concentration of the world number five it decreased as his bad mood increased. It is seen that he is already with the right reserve, perhaps thinking about a necessary and deserved vacation before facing a new season that is tough for him, because he must maintain his status and defend many points. The oldest of the Ymer, 25, had nothing to lose and believed in his possibilities. The second set was a disaster for Andrey, who lost his serve three times and in the third he was unable to break Ymer’s, despite having up to seven chances to do so. That is why the tie-break was reached and there his pulse did not tremble. Earlier he had smashed a piece of one of the backcourt advertising screens with a hit.
That delayed the start of Medvedev’s match. The world number two also won with a tantrum that made him hit a microphone with his racket. It was after losing the serve when he dominated with two breaks in the second set. But he recovered without too much trouble and closed the victory.
Davis Cup results.