HELSINGBORG, March 5, 2022

Sweden has reached the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals for the second time. The Scandinavians, without their injured top-ranked player Mikael Ymer, defeated Japan 3-2 on home soil in Helsingborg on Saturday.

Elias Ymer secured the final point following a 6-3, 6-3 win over Yosuke Watanaki. The World No. 133 sent down six aces and won 71 per cent of his first-service points to prevail after one hour and 10 minutes.

🇸🇪 @eliasymer brings it home for Sweden with a 6-3 6-3 win against Watanuki!#DavisCup #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/VZ5ntZi7Sq

— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) March 5, 2022

Earlier in the day, Andre Goransson and Elias Ymer gave Sweden a 2-1 lead by winning the doubles rubber, as they outlasted Ben McLachlan and Yasutaka Uchiyama 2-6, 7-6(9), 7-5 after two hours and 40 minutes.

Taro Daniel leveled the score for Japan with a comfortable 6-0, 7-5 victory over Dragos Nicolae Madaras in 83 minutes.

“It’s been an amazing week for me, I have never won three matches in a row,” said Elias Ymer.

“I’m so proud of the team and it’s so fun to be in the Davis Cup Finals again. Madrid was so much fun last year and now we all have something to look forward to again.

“I just love Helsingborg. I won the deciding match here on my Davis Cup debut [against Denmark in 2013]. To be able to do it again, it doesn’t get any better.”

In last year’s Davis Cup Finals, Sweden finished in second place in Group B after defeating Canada 3-0, fell to Kazakhstan 2-1, but advanced to the quarterfinals as the best-performing group runner-up. They lost to eventual champions Russian Tennis Federation 2-0 in the last eight. As one of 12 winners from this week’s Qualifiers, Sweden will return to the Finals with the group stage scheduled for September.