RUSSIA has reached the semi-finals of the 2021 Davis Cup Finals after cleaning up against Sweden overnight. One of the tournament favourites, they won 2-0 and had no need for a doubles decider, with Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev securing wins in their respective matches. Sweden came in as one of only two second placed sides in the quarter finals, with Russia taking care of business in just over three hours against the Ymer brothers.

The first match was far closer than some might have imaged the fifth ranked Rublev and 171st ranked Elias Ymer might be, with the contest going down to the wire. The 25-year-old Ymer took it right up to Rublev, winning the second set after Rublev dominated the first. The talented Russian broke two times and did not drop a point off his first serve, getting up 6-2. It was a different story in the second set, with Ymer hitting back by serving five aces to three, and breaking three times to two, setting up six break point opportunities. His final break was the most important, able to secure the set and level the match.

Fittingly, the third set went right down to a tiebreaker, as Ymer again served five aces, but could not create a break point. Luckily for the Swede, his defence was on-point in the deciding set, saving seven break points to force a tiebreaker. Rublev could not have done much more on serve, only dropping six total points off a stunning 77 per cent efficiency. The win gave Russia a huge sense of relief with world number two Medvedev up next.

It was a more straightforward win for Medvedev, who claimed the victory over the younger and higher-ranked Mikael Ymer. The world number two won 6-4 6-4 in 72 minutes of action, serving serve aces to one, though also producing an uncharacteristic nine double faults. Despite this, Medvedev still managed to put pressure on Ymer, breaking five times from 10 chances, though he was also broken three from five. Winning 73 per cent of his first serve points compared to 54 per cent for his opponent, Medvedev was too strong for the Swede.

Russia now advances into the semi-finals where it will take on Germany. The winner of that clash will advance to the final to face either Croatia or Serbia.