Russians knock defending champions Spain out of Davis Cup

Wednesday, 1 December 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Russian Tennis Federation's Daniil Medvedev in action against Ecuador's Emilio Gomez

during their Davis Cup match at the Madrid Arena stadium

in Madrid - AFP

PARIS (AFP): Russia knocked reigning champions Spain out of the Davis Cup on Sunday to set up a quarter-final against Sweden.

The Russians’ tie against the depleted Spanish team came down to a late-night doubles encounter in Madrid.

Aslan Karatsev and World number five Andrey Rublev won 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 against Marcel Granollers and Feliciano Lopez to win Group A and deprive the Spanish team of the chance to play in front of a home crowd in Madrid on Thursday.

The Russians, playing under the name of the Russian Tennis Federation because of sanctions against Russian sport for doping, made a bad start to the tie when Lopez beat Rublev 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening singles rubber.

US Open champion Daniil Medvedev stepped up to bring the tie level with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) win over Pablo Carreno Busta, before the doubles decided the match.

Britain booked their place in the last eight with a come-from-behind victory over the Czech Republic on Sunday and will play Germany in Innsbruck on Tuesday.

Kazakhstan and Croatia also reached the last eight.Dan Evans’ surprise 6-2, 7-5 loss to world number 143 Tomas Machac left Britain needing to fight back to secure a second straight win and take top spot in Group C, but Cameron Norrie overcame a second-set blip to see off Jiri Lehecka 6-1, 2-6, 6-1, before Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski teamed up to beat Machac and Jiri Vesely 6-4, 6-2 in Innsbruck.