In the third, final round of the group stage of the ATP Cup, the Russian team did not leave Norway a chance. Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov confidently got the better of the Scandinavians in full-time duels, and their initiative in pairs was supported by Teymuraz Gabashvili and Konstantin Kravchuk. Thanks to this, domestic tennis players guaranteed themselves not only the first place in the group, but also a ticket to the quarterfinals of the revived team tournament.
The ATP Cup was the reincarnation of the once prestigious World Team Cup, in which the strongest men's national teams played among themselves. Between 1978 and 2012, it was held in Dusseldorf in May and was considered the most prestigious team championship after the Davis Cup. But later the competition lost its popularity and were abolished.
They returned to this idea only in 2018, but decided to change both the place and the time of the event. To attract a more stellar cast of participants, it was proposed to move the tournament to Australia, turning it into a kind of preparation stage for the Australian Open. So, athletes could test their strength in battles with rivals of the highest class, as well as get used to the local climate.
According to the regulations, 24 national teams were divided into six groups, and they were seeded according to the place of their strongest representatives in the ranking of the Association of Professional Tennis Players, which guaranteed the performance of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and other grandees. Switzerland has become a victim of this format. Roger Federer was forced to withdraw from the competition due to an injury, as a result of which Bulgaria, led by Grigor Dimitrov, replaced his home country. As for the Russians, they were sown in Quartet D.
After victories over rivals from Italy and the USA, Russian tennis players faced a battle for first place with the Norwegians. In anticipation of the final round of the group stage of the ATP Cup, domestic athletes took first place in the group, but in case of defeat they could move to second. Medvedev and the company should not have relaxed ahead of time, because an unexpected failure could worsen their tournament position and complicate further tournament prospects. According to the regulations, the leaders of their quartets, as well as the two best second teams, enter the playoffs.
However, the Russians decided to do without hassle and easily dealt with less skilled opponents. So, it took Khachanov just 62 minutes to crush Viktor Durashovich. In a duel with the 329th racket of the world, he gave only three games and practically did not feel resistance. The Norwegian was unable to cope with the opponent’s first serve, losing 94% of the draws on it, which predetermined the outcome of the meeting. Karen made four breaks and remained undefeated in singles.
Although Medvedev experienced significantly more problems in the battle with Casper Ruud, he also extended the successful series in "loners" to three games. In the first set he looked pretty confident and a little more than half an hour tipped the scales in his favor. But in the second, he became less likely to hit the first ball, which allowed the Norwegian to make a break and lead with a score of 3: 1. True, in the next game, Daniel returned the favor and restored parity, but the determination of the winner was postponed until the tie-break. There, the Russian for a long time conceded, but in time seized the initiative and proved his superiority.
Thus, the pair meeting did not have any tournament significance. Experienced Teymuraz Gabashvili and Konstantin Kravchuk left no chance for the same Ruud and Durashovich, having successfully debuted at the ATP Cup. Earlier, the same Medvedev and Khachanov performed in duets, but this time the coaching staff allowed to play a substitute.
It is worth noting that the only defeat of Russian tennis players in the group stage was precisely in the doubles match. Medvedev and Khachanov could not demonstrate their best qualities and lost to the Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajiv Ram. Perhaps one of the reasons for this failure was the fatigue of both athletes. On the same day, Karen had a grueling three-set match with Taylor Fritz, and Daniel, albeit easily dealt with John Isner, but had virtually no time to rest.
Khachanov spent almost two hours on the court and lost the first set, but subsequently was able to rehabilitate himself and snatch victory. The second game turned out to be the most intense, which lasted 50 minutes and ended in favor of the Russian with a score of 7: 5. This failure seriously affected the psychological state of Fritz, who failed to tune in to the final segment. Karen did not leave a vis-a-vis a chance, allowing him to win only one game.
As the leader of the team, Medvedev had to fight with more artisan counterparts. But if the duel with Isner became an easy walk for him, then the match with Fabio Fognini was extremely intense. In the first set, he could not cope with the supply of the Italian, as evidenced by only 18% of won rallies when hitting the first ball. As a result, 1: 6 in 31 minutes.
True, subsequently the fifth racket of the world did not allow to doubt its class. Over the next two games, he lost only four games and brought the Russian team a second victory in the championship. It is noteworthy that about an hour later he returned to the court and, together with Khachanov, excelled in duets. They only needed two sets to deal with experienced hotbeds - Australian Open winner Stefano Bolelli and Roland Garros quarter-finalist Stefano Lorenzi.
The rival of the Russian national quarter-finals team will be the winner of the group E. Before the final round, the Croatian team, led by Marina Chilic and Borna Choric, leads. "Drafts" have already managed to defeat the Austrians and Poles, and only Argentines can prevent them from taking first place. True, so far neither Guido Pella nor Diego Schwartzman have been pleased with their stable performances. So, the first of them defeated only Kamil Maykhshak, and the second lost in both meetings.