SYDNEY (AP) — Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin won their singles matches before combining to win the doubles Tuesday to give defending champion Russia a sweep of Australia and first place in Group B at the ATP Cup.
Russia is 2-0 in the tournament but still has to beat Italy on Thursday in a rematch between last year’s finalists to ensure it advances to the semifinals.
Safiullin opened the night session with a 7-6 (6), 6-4 win over James Duckworth. Medvedev beat Alex De Minaur 6-4, 6-2 to secure Russia’s victory before the doubles.
Italy rebounded from its upset loss to Australia last Sunday to sweep France, with Jannik Sinner beating Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 7-6 (3) and Matteo Berrettini defeating Ugo Humbert 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the singles matches.
For Berrettini, it was a confidence-boosting win following a loss to de Minaur over the weekend. Humbert was coming off an upset win over U.S. Open champion Medvedev.