MADRID, November 20, 2019

Spain started its home campaign at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Russia in Group B. In front of packed stands on Centre Court at the Caja Magica, Sergi Bruguera’s team needed until nearly 2am to finish the tie.

Russia got off to a strong start, as Andrey Rublev opened the afternoon session with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(0) win over World No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut but then it was Rafael Nadal, who claimed the 25th consecutive singles win of his Davis Cup career. The World No. 1 from Mallorca beat Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-6(7) in front of his vociferous Spanish fans.

“The format makes things very difficult because every mistake put you in a position that you don’t want to be,” Nadal said. “Losing that first match, we were under pressure with the rest of the groups.

“You make a mistake in one singles match, and in the doubles anything can happen. So things are beautiful that way, too. But at the same time, for the best teams, it makes things so dangerous.”

Peak @RafaelNadal 👌#DavisCupMadridFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/dP8pEwGpzb

— Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals (@DavisCupFinals) November 19, 2019

In the end, it was up to Marcel Granollers and Feliciano Lopez to complete the comeback victory for Spain with a 6-4 7-6(5) win over Khachanov and Rublev in the decisive doubles rubber.

“We have to be very happy because we were very close to being out of the competition,” said Lopez. “Rafa evened the tie and then we were able to win, but we were very close to being out, to have a very small chance of being in the quarter-finals.”

Spain will play on Thursday against 2018 champions Croatia for a spot in the the knockout stages.

Day 2 Results

Day Session

Centre Court – Group C

Argentina defeated Chile 3-0

Guido Pella (ARG) d. Nicolas Jarry (CHI) 6-4 6-3

Diego Schwartzman (ARG) d. Cristian Garin (CHI) 6-2 6-2

Maximo Gonzalez/Leonardo Mayer (ARG) d. Nicolas Jarry/Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI) 6-3 7-5

Stadium 2 – Group A

France defeated Japan 2-1

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) d. Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) 6-2 6-1

Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) d. Gael Monfils (FRA) 7-5 6-2

Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) d. Ben McLachlan/Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5

Stadium 3 – Group E

Kazakhstan defeated Netherlands 2-1

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) d. Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) 6-2 6-2

Robin Haase (NED) d. Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 7-5 3-6 7-6(5)

Alexander Bublik/Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) d. Robin Haase/Jean-Julien Rojer (NED) 6-4 7-6(2)

Evening Session

Centre Court – Group B

Spain defeated Russia 2-1

Andrey Rublev (RUS) d. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 3-6 6-3 7-6(0)

Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Karen Khachanov (RUS) 6-3 7-6(7)

Marcel Granollers/Feliciano Lopez (ESP) d. Karen Khachanov/Andrey Rublev (RUS) 6-4 7-6(5)

Stadium 2 – Group F

Canada defeated USA 2-1

Vasek Pospisil (CAN) d. Reilly Opelka (USA) 7-6(5) 7-6(7)

Denis Shapovalov (CAN) d. Taylor Fritz (USA) 7-6(6) 6-3

Sam Querrey/Jack Sock (USA) d. Vasek Pospisil/Denis Shapovalov (CAN) walkover (counted as a 6-0 6-0 win for USA)

Stadium 3 – Group D

Australia defeated Colombia 3-0

Nick Kyrgios (AUS) d. Alejandro Gonzalez (COL) 6-4 6-4

Alex de Minaur (AUS) d. Daniel Elahi Galan (COL) 6-4 6-3

John Peers/Jordan Thompson (AUS) d. Juan-Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah (COL) 6-3 3-6 7-6(6)

Current Standings

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Canada qualifies for the quarterfinals