Andrey Rublev’s 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Borna Gojo in the Davis Cup final between the Russian Tennis Federation and Croatia on Sunday wasn’t just significant because it gave the Russians a 1-0 lead in the tie for the championship, but it also gave Rublev his 20th overall Davis Cup win in singles and doubles combined.
He’s just the fourth Russian to reach that milestone.
MOST DAVIS CUP WINS FOR A RUSSIAN PLAYER, SINGLES AND DOUBLES
44: Yevgeny Kafelnikov (44-28)
31: Marat Safin (31-21)
21: Mikhail Youzhny (21-17)
20: Andrey Rublev (20-10)
17: Nikolay Davydenko (17-11)
It also put Rublev in fifth place among Russians for just singles wins.
MOST DAVIS CUP WINS FOR A RUSSIAN PLAYER, SINGLES ONLY
31: Yevgeny Kafelnikov (31-16)
21: Marat Safin (21-15)
15: Mikhail Youzhny (15-11)
14: Nikolay Davydenko (14-9)
12: Andrey Rublev (12-5)
The No. 275-ranked Gojo had been on fire over the last week and a half, winning all three singles matches he played at the Davis Cup Finals leading into the final, beating No. 61 Alexei Popyrin, No. 27 Lorenzo Sonego and No. 33 Dusan Lajovic.
But the No. 5-ranked Rublev was just too good on the day.
Daniil Medvedev then beat Marin Cilic to clinch the title for the Russians, 2-0.