Madrid (AFP)
Serbia tied Russia 1-1 in the Davis Cup quarter-final on Friday after Novak Djokovic defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-3 in 1:14 in the second.
The double will be decisive for qualifying for the half. According to the teams announced before the start of the match, Serbs Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki should challenge Russians Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.
The latter gave the advantage to the Russians by winning the first singles against Filip Krajinovic, 6-1, 6-2, in 52 minutes.
Russia qualified for the quarter-finals thanks to their best-place spot in Group B, where Spain's Rafael Nadal finished first. Serbia finished first in group A.
In the absence of Daniil Medvedev, who said he was "emptied" just before the start of the competition, Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev relied only on Rublev and Khachanov to play all singles and doubles. He has only one other player on his team, Evgeny Donskoy.
Krajinovic had, the day before, ensured the victory of Serbia over France by winning the first single against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, before Djokovic dominates Benoît Paire.
© 2019 AFP