Group B stands as the strongest one (at least on the paper) at the first edition of the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid, with Spain, Russia and the defending champions Croatia fighting for the place in the quarters. In the first clash, Russia took down vulnerable Croatian squad 3-0 after a dominant display in both singles and doubles, even without Daniil Medvedev in the team. In the first rubber, Andrey Rublev defeated college tennis star Borna Gojo 6-3, 6-3 in 68 minutes, losing serve once in the early stages and never looking back in the rest of the encounter after stealing the Croat's serve four times.
Gojo netted a backhand to suffer a break in the first game, pulling it back in game two before another loose groundstroke that cost him the serve a few minutes later. Rublev barely lost a point behind the initial shot in the remaining three service games, securing the set with the third break in game nine after 34 minutes. The Russian saved two break chances in the first game of the second set and grabbed a break in game four after a double fault from Borna, controlling the pace in the remaining games and earning the first point for his country with an ace at 5-3. In the second match, Karen Khachanov prevailed against Borna Coric 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 after two hours and 26 minutes to wrap up the overall triumph for Russia.
Karen produced better numbers behind the second serve, facing one break point in the entire clash and mounting the pressure on Borna who couldn't endure it in sets two and three. The first set offered 11 commanding holds and one loose service game for Coric who repelled three break chances in the eighth game to stay on the positive side of the scoreboard, taking the tie break 7-4 to grab the opener in 54 minutes. Karen responded with a return winner in the seventh game of the second set, erasing that only break chance for Borna in the next game and closing the set with a hold at love at 5-4 to bring the decider.
There, the Russian barely lost a point in his games, stealing Borna's serve in the seventh game and sealing the deal with a service winner three games later to push Russia over the top. In the doubles, Khachanov and Rublev toppled Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic 7-6, 6-4 to wrap up the tie and make the best possible start ahead of the clash against the host nation Spain on Tuesday.
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