MELBOURNE – A relentless Russia crushed Italy 2-0 to win their maiden ATP Cup Sunday with Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev in red-hot form leading into the Australian Open.
Russia were the only nation in the 12-team event to boast two top 10 players and they had swept past Japan, Argentina and Germany en route to the decider.
Italy faced the same juggernaut on Rod Laver Arena, with Rublev destroying Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-2 in just 61 minutes before Medvedev overpowered Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 6-2 in 79 minutes.
“Such a pleasure to be part of this team,” said Russia captain Evgeny Donskoy. “It’s not a tough job to be captain of such a strong team.”
World number four Medvedev and eighth-ranked Rublev have been the two hottest players on tour…
