Ruthless Medvedev clinches victory for Russian Tennis Federation over Ecuador

World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev was a class apart as he raced to a 6-0 6-2 victory over Emilio Gomez to seal victory for Russian Tennis Federation over Ecuador.

The 25-year-old, who is in the form of his life having won a first Grand Slam title at the US Open two months ago, was nothing short of exceptional at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals on Saturday night, needing just 57 minutes to dispatch Gomez, who himself had come so close to causing an upset against Pablo Carreno (ESP) on Friday.

Medvedev's comfortable win was enough to ensure his team moved to an unassailable 2-0 lead against Ecuador, which now sets up a mouth-watering winner-takes-all Group A clash with hosts Spain on Sunday night.

And the Russian was happy not only with his performance but also with his Davis Cup Finals debut.

"I'm happy about my level because Davis Cup is about many times sensations, lower-ranked players playing unbelievable tennis," said Medvedev. "I was ready for it. I wanted to keep it clean from the first to the last point of the match. I'm really happy to bring a point to the team.

"There were definitely a lot of people. That's cool because we are playing in Madrid, Russia against Ecuador. You never know what to expect. I'm happy that we had a full crowd for us. Of course, tomorrow going to be probably full, but most people for Spain."

He added with a smile: "I've experienced it many times lately, so I'm going to be ready."

Such was Russian Tennis Federation's intent on not slipping up against Ecuador, they named a full-strength singles line-up. World No.5 Andrey Rublev, who was made to work hard for a 63, 46, 61 victory against Ecuador's Roberto Quiroz in the opening match of the tie, explained that his team know how important every match can be in the Davis Cup Finals format from their experience as best runners-up in 2019.

"Everyone can beat everyone," said Rublev. "Especially at the Davis Cup, when it's a completely different feeling when you compare it to your own career. We can see yesterday Carreno also was suffering and he was able to win 7-6 in the third. Then I think also the doubles was 7-6 in the third.

"In these kinds of matches, when you play for your country, every player can beat everyone. Here we need to try the best, doesn't matter which team we play, especially here in the Group [Stage] when every match and every win is very important.

"Two years ago, we won one match 3-0 but next one we lost 2-1 against Spain, but because we won the first match 3-0, we were able to still qualify as the second-best team. So that's why we're gonna play with our best players and best options."

Davis Cup is well-known for producing David and Goliath moments and with a ranking difference of 286 positions separating Andrey Rublev and his South American opponent, the stage was set for Roberto Quiroz to test himself against the highest-ranked opponent he has ever faced.

A visibly ruffled Rublev battled both himself as well as his opponent before digging deep in the third set to show exactly why the Russian Tennis Federation are being touted as title contenders at this year's Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals.

Rublev looked as though he was on course for a routine victory at the start of the match. In fact, it took the Russian just seven minutes to establish a foothold in the encounter. Quiroz gifted his opponent a chance to break with a double fault at 0-30 in the third game of the opening set and Rublev seized his opportunity, driving an angled backhand return of serve that forced an error from the left-hander's racket.

Quiroz, buoyed by a vocal contingent of fans in yellow, frustrated his opponent for much of the first set and it was only once Rublev began to inject more pace and depth into his shots that the Ecuadorian began to feel the pressure, which eventually told when the Russian clinched a second break in the ninth game to take the first set 6-3.

Despite Rublev maintaining a high level of precision on serve - the 24-year-old fired down 70% of his first serves - he simply couldn't shake off Quiroz.

Even when the Russian engineered three break points at 0-40 in the sixth game of the second set, Quiroz produced his best tennis of the match to fight back to deuce. The South American proceeded to save a fourth break point when Rublev mis-timed a return and went on to hold for 3-3.

And Quiroz further frustrated his opposite number, converting a first break point opportunity of the match to move ahead 5-4, resulting in the Russian receiving a warning for court abuse. Rublev's emotions continued to be on display for the fervent crowd to see as he punched his racket strings in disbelief moments before Quiroz closed out the set 6-4.

Normal service was resumed in the third set for the Russian, who seemed distracted by discomfort in his right hand. He converted his two break point opportunities and closed out the final set for the loss of just one game.

While the result might not have been what he wanted, Quiroz hopes to take positives into next year and beyond with the way he played against a level of player to which he is not accustomed.

"I think I did a really good job," said Quiroz. "Yesterday I felt that I did the same, but it just didn't go on my side. Today I tried to leave it all out [there], and, as you say, a guy that's top 5, it's a really good parameter for me coming forward for 2022. I have no doubts that that's not gonna be my last ranking, and I'm really hoping to have a really good 2022 and bring my country back to this situation."

The Russians completed a 3-0 win thanks to a 64, 46, 64 victory for Aslan Karatsev and Rublev in the doubles against Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.

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