Daniil Medvedev had to dig deep and pull out some of his best tennis in order to stop Matteo Berrettini, as the World No.2 scored a vital point for Russia at the ATP Cup on Thursday.
Medvedev overcame a second set hiccup to secure a 6-2 6-7(5) 6-4 victory, ensuring that Russia was tied 1-1 with Italy. This win was necessary as Jannik Sinner had given the Italians the lead earlier in the day, with Medvedev being relied upon to level the score.
The US Open champion pulled off the victory after a marathon two hours and 37 minutes, with Berrettini not giving an inch in an attempt to secure the win for Italy. With the match tied at a set apiece, it was the Russian's poise and consistency that saw him prevail in this Group B encounter.
Group C saw USA's Taylor Fritz defeat Great Britain's Cameron Norrie, with the American overcoming a second set comeback to escape with a 7-6(4) 3-6 6-1 victory. Dan Evans had given the Brits a 1-0 lead after defeating John Isner earlier in the day, but Fritz did enough to secure the win for the Americans and tie the score at 1-1.
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