Medvedev, Rublev in top form as Russia beats Italy for ATP Cup title

Neither Daniil Medvedev nor Andrey Rublev had lost a match all week and they kept that going on Sunday, dominating Italy’s Top 2 players in straight sets to bring Russia the ATP Cup title.

Rublev was first up against Fabio Fognini, and though Rublev is the higher-ranked player, No. 8 to No. 17, the head-to-head didn’t bode well for him as Fognini had won five of their six previous meetings.

But all of those encounters came before Rublev’s breakthrough year in 2020 and the Russian was in control from start to finish this time, completely overpowering the Italian in 61 minutes, 6-1, 6-2.

“I was playing well since the first match here,” Rublev said. “Today I was going on the court thinking that I needed to fight for every ball, because I lost a few times against him—really tough matches, really painful ones—so I knew that the score doesn’t matter, he always knows how to come back.”

Medvedev was up next against Matteo Berrettini, and their only previous meeting was about as close as you can get, a 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4 win for Medvedev in the second round of Indian Wells in 2018.

After getting an early break for a 2-1 lead, Medvedev never really looked back, holding onto that break until he had the first set in his pocket. He then won five games in a row from 1-0 down in the second set to build a 6-4, 5-1 lead, even bringing up match points on Berrettini's serve as the No. 10-ranked Italian battled to keep his country's hopes alie.

Berrettini held but the No. 4-ranked Russian swiftly served out a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

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Medvedev now heads into the first major of the year on a 14-match winning streak, having won 10 matches in a row to close out his 2020 season—including winning the biggest title of his career at the ATP Finals—and four more wins this week. Ten of those 14 wins have come against Top 10 players.

“Just it’s a really big achievement, I would say, because I also didn’t lose a match,” Medvedev said. “Yeah, 10 matches against Top 10 opponents—it’s a big boost in confidence. Even when you lose, you know you’re capable of playing this level, and it helps you for the next time to stand up.”

World No. 4 Medvedev and eighth-ranked Rublev are projected to meet in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after both landed in the third quarter of the draw.

“Yeah, it’s going to be great,” Medvedev said. “You cannot change the draw. If it happens, it’s perfect.”

“It’s too long to talk about,” Rublev said. “I mean, it’s too far to say something about it now. We have to go match by match. Daniil has a tough first round. Me, I have as well, the German guy I’ve never seen before, but I heard that he’s playing really, really great.

“We’ll see what’s going to happen. We’re not going to meet in the second round, so we need to win a couple of matches, and they’re going to be tough matches.”

Medvedev opens against Canada's Vasek Pospisil, while Rublev starts with Germany's Yannick Hanfmann.