Russia, the great favorite by ranking and team to fight for the Salad Bowl, began her career at the Madrid Arena with a 2-0 victory over Ecuador. In the absence of the result of the doubles, which will be played next, tomorrow (16:00, Let’s go) they will play against Spain the first place of the group.
The Russians, champions in the 2002 and 2006 editions, did not save anything and they went out with their two best men for the singles. The two who were contesting the ATP Finals last week. The stoic Russian captain, Samil Tarpischev, the oldest in history and on the bench since 1974, arranged for Andrey Rublev (5th in the world) to open in front of Roberto Quiroz (291º), who managed to start a set (6-3, 4-6 and 6-1) before the anger of the pupil of the Spanish Fernando Vicente.
After, Daniil Medvedev (2nd ATP and US Open champion), resolved in an express way 6-0 and 6-2 against Emilio Gómez, who on Friday had put Pablo Carreño in trouble by taking him to the tie-break of the third set.
Rublev, Russia’s number two and that he will foreseeably face Feliciano López if Sergi Bruguera does not introduce changes, he does not trust Spain. “In this competition anyone can beat you, it is the experience I have. It is totally different from the circuit. When you play for your country anything can happen and in this group every victory is important. In 2019, we coincided with Spain and we were the ones who were able to pass as second because I won a point from Bautista even though we lost 2-1. So you have to play with the best, “he recalled.
Davis Cup results.