Russian will meet Italy in the final of the ATP Cup after both countries beat opponents Germany and Spain in Melbourne today.
Daniil Medvedev battled back from a set down to topple Alexander Zverev after Andrey Rublev had also come from a set behind to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Medvedev had to dig deep to see off Zverev, eventually winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
“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,” Medvedev said.
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“But most important was getting the win for our country. There were big downs and big ups, just normal tennis.”
Zverev became another injury worry as he needed a medical timeout for a lower back strain towards the end of the second set.
Rublev admitted he had to battle to come back from the first set loss.
“In the second set I say: if I’m gonna play like this I’m gonna lose 6-3 6-3 and that’s it. So I need to change, go for the shots, start to hit as well, and then I start to play also a reasonable level,” Rublev said.
“(Last year) I did a lot of improvements, one of the main ones is my serve. I start to serve much harder.”
Italy beat last year’s finalists Spain with Berrettini and Fabio Fognini winning their singles ties.
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Fognini produced some magical tennis to beat Pablo Carreno Busta to seal a 6-2 1-6 6-4 victory before the in-form Matteo Berrettini win the tie with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Berrettini said.
“Last year I couldn’t make it (to play ATP Cup) so I’m really happy that first time that I played we are into the finals.
“The job is not done yet, but we are really happy for what is happening.”