Daniil Medvedev defeated Jan-Lennard Struff and gave the deciding point for the Russians.
Russia qualified for the Davis Cup final on Saturday by beating Germany 2-0, after Daniil Medvedev beat Jan-Lennard Struff (6-4, 6-4) in the second semi-final individual match.
The Russians will face Croatia in the final, which on Friday defeated Novak Djokovic’s Serbia 2-1 in the decisive doubles.
Medvedev’s victory makes the scheduled doubles match between Russians Karen Kachanov and Aslan Karatsev and the German pair of Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz inconsequential.
Medvedev gave the final point to Russia in the second singles match, after Rublev, world number five, had led the way by beating Dominik Koepfer (6-4, 6-0) in the first match of the crossing.
Rublev was much more serene this Saturday than in previous matches, where his angry images multiplied every time something did not go well.
The Russian, the only one on his team to have lost a match against Spaniard Feliciano López in the group stage, leaned on his serve to finish beating a slightly combative Koepfer in 49 minutes.
‘Concentrated’
“I was very focused from start to finish,” said Rublev after the victory that put the Russian standings on track against a Germany that, without their number one Alexander Zverev, had won in the group stage against Serbia and had reached the semifinals supported by invincibility of his pair of doubles.
“In other (games) I felt like I was winning quite easily, without making a lot of effort and I relaxed. Then the rival starts to play better and it gets complicated, “added Rublev, who, in principle, will face Croatian Borna Gojo in the final.
In the next individual match this Saturday, Medvedev barely needed 1 hour and 6 minutes to beat Struff, number 51 in the world, which, unlike Koepfer, did not give any points for lost.
In the first set, with both men on duty, Medvedev had to wait until the ninth game to break Struff’s serve and go 5-4 before closing the set with his own serve.
The second set was a carbon copy of the first with a dominant Medvedev against a feisty Struff, who lost his serve in the fifth game.
Medvedev got 3-2 ahead and it came to him with defending his serve to win the sleeve and the match and achieve the final point, which put Russia in their sixth Davis Cup final.
The Russians, who had lost in the semifinals of this tournament against Canada in 2019, will seek their third Silver Salad Bowl against Croatia on Sunday, after their triumphs in 2002 and 2006. (D)
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