Russians knock defending champions Spain out of Davis Cup

Russian Tennis Federation's Daniil Medvedev in action against Ecuador's Emilio Gomez 

during their Davis Cup match at the Madrid Arena stadium 

in Madrid - AFP

PARIS (AFP): Russia knocked reigning champions Spain out of the Davis Cup on Sunday to set up a quarter-final against Sweden.

The Russians’ tie against the depleted Spanish team came down to a late-night doubles encounter in Madrid.

Aslan Karatsev and World number five Andrey Rublev won 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 against Marcel Granollers and Feliciano Lopez to win Group A and deprive the Spanish team of the chance to play in front of a home crowd in Madrid on Thursday.

The Russians, playing under the name of the Russian Tennis Federation because of sanctions against Russian sport for doping, made a bad start to the tie when Lopez beat Rublev 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening singles rubber.

US Open champion Daniil Medvedev stepped up to bring the tie level with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) win over Pablo Carreno Busta, before the doubles decided the match.

Britain booked their place in the last eight with a come-from-behind victory over the Czech Republic on Sunday and will play Germany in Innsbruck on Tuesday.

Kazakhstan and Croatia also reached the last eight.Dan Evans’ surprise 6-2, 7-5 loss to world number 143 Tomas Machac left Britain needing to fight back to secure a second straight win and take top spot in Group C, but Cameron Norrie overcame a second-set blip to see off Jiri Lehecka 6-1, 2-6, 6-1, before Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski teamed up to beat Machac and Jiri Vesely 6-4, 6-2 in Innsbruck.