Russia got very close to advancing from the Group B at the Davis Cup Finals when Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev earned all 3 points.
The day on Centre Court started with a match between Borna Gojo and young Russian start,
Andrey Rublev. Rublev did not have any major difficulties with Croatian when he won the match 6-3 and 6-3 to earn the first point for Russia.
Later, Borna Coric and Karen Khachanov fought for the second point. Coric opened the match better, when he won the first set in a tie-break, but Khachanov did not give up and managed to win 2nd and 3rd set 6-4 to add another point for Russia.
In the doubles, it was again Khachanov and Rublev playing together against Dodig and Mektic. As the young Russian duo was unstoppable today, they earned also 3rd point for Russia what got them the lead in Group B.
After the successful start Khachanov said: "When you play, not only for yourself but your country, you need to give extra toughness and extra fight. It was a tough match, it was a solid match from both of us. First time playing here in Madrid on hard court, opening match, extra pressure, it was important to start well. Had some opportunities and took them, I’m really happy we won this tie."
[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/B5A5JzAq80U/[/embed]