Russians win Davis Cup title in Spain after Rublev and Medvedev romp

Russia's men's tennis players won a third Davis Cup title on Sunday after Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev gave them an unassailable lead over Croatia.

Rublev beat Croatia's Borna Gojo 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in the first singles rubber.

US Open champion Medvedev then defeated 2014 Flushing Meadows winner Marin Cilic 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 as the Russians followed up triumphs in 2002 and 2006 with another success in the team competition.

Their quick singles victories made the third doubles rubber redundant.

"It feels amazing but I'm more happy for the team than for myself," Medvedev was quoted as saying by PA.

"We have an amazing team, amazing atmosphere, and I'm just happy to be part of this team and to be able to bring the points that we need. It was a pretty amazing two weeks because it's never easy to come here at the end of the season. Two of the best weeks of my career."

Madrid hard-court

The final of the revamped tournament took place on the hard-court in Madrid after the group phase and knockout stages were held in Spain, Turin and Innsbruck over the past week and a half.

The Russians were officially known at the Davis Cup as the Russian Tennis Federation because of a wider sports ban on using their own flag linked to doping.

They had beaten Sweden in the quarters and Germany in the semis before triumphing.

The 2022 finals are set for another reboot with reports saying Abu Dhabi will be the host.

The tournament used to be spread across the year but new leadership prompted the 2019 change to the end of the season.