Russia claimed a third Davis Cup title on Sunday after Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev both won their singles matches to defeat Croatia.
Medvedev’s 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 victory over Marin Cilic came after Rublev had earlier prevailed 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) over Borna Gojo, giving Russia an unassailable 2-0 lead in Madrid.
Croatia’s greatest chance would have been in the doubles with world number one pair Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, but they always needed a surprise in the singles to take the tie to the final rubber.
Instead, Medvedev and Rublev, ranked two and five in the world respectively, held their nerve to make it nine out of 10 victories for Russia’s power pair in the tournament.