Daniil Medvedev in fine form as Russian Federation storm into Davis Cup semi-final

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev secured victory for the Russian Tennis Federation over Sweden to set up a Davis Cup semi-final against Germany.

The Russian team – the only one in the competition to boast two top-10 singles players – were heavy favourites against outsiders Sweden, who qualified for the last eight as one of the best group stage runners-up.

They are represented by brothers Mikael and Elias Ymer, ranked 94 and 171, respectively.

Twenty-five-year-old Elias gave world number five Rublev a real battle, recovering from a set and a break down to force a deciding tie-break, but it was the Russian who came through 6-2 5-7 7-6 (3).

That meant victory for US Open champion Medvedev would clinch the tie without the need for a doubles rubber and, despite a couple of lapses of concentration in the second set, he comfortably saw off Mikael 6-4 6-4.

“I should have served better but I am really happy to bring the point to the team,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview.

“Madrid feels like home, we are winning a lot of matches, we beat Spain the other day. It was a great boost of confidence to beat the home favourites.”

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