Daniil Medvedev battled back from a set down to topple Alexander Zverev and power Russia into the ATP Cup final Saturday where they will me...
Daniil Medvedev battled back from a set down to topple Alexander Zverev and power Russia into the ATP Cup final Saturday where they will meet the Matteo Berrettini-led Italy.
The world number four needed to dig deep against the German world number seven, finally coming through 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 on his fourth match point after a marathon battle on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
He sealed the tie after Andrey Rublev, who won five ATP titles last year as he raced up the rankings, also pulled off a come-from-behind win, grinding down Jan-Lennard 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Italy beat last year’s finalists Spain with Berrettini and Fabio Fognini winning their singles ties.
“It was a crazy match. I was happy to win even though there were a lot of things I didn’t like in the match,” said Medvedev, who has enjoyed a perfect preparation for next week’s Australian Open.
“But most important was getting the win for our country. There were big downs and big ups, just normal tennis.”
Zverev, who needed a medical timeout for a tight lower back towards the end of the second set, heads into the Australian Open having beaten world number 12 Denis Shapovalov and pushed top-ranked Novak Djokovic deep into a third set, before his defeat...
