(Tennis news) In day 6 the final group stages of the ATP Cup saw the top two teams of two groups qualify for the semifinal. The day also had exits from top two teams from Group C and B as Italy fell short of making it into the final stages even though they had a strong team and Britain missing out the spot by a whisker.

Russia defeated Italy 2-1

Russia picked up its biggest victory so far as they became the third team to qualify for the semifinals. Jannik Sinner put Italy on front with a top class performance over Roman Safiullin as the Russian could not handle the power of the next gen. In the second singles match, Daniil Medvedev kept the hopes alive with a three set win over Matteo Berrettini as he only committed 13 unforced errors and played it safe. The pressure was on Medvedev but the world number 2 did not let his country down after losing the second set, the final set saw the Russian excel as he kept the rallies long.

In the final doubles match, Medvedev and Safiullin were again in the danger zone after losing the first set but did not let the Italians celebrate in the next two sets as they will now aim for a second consecutive title.

Sinner defeated Safiullin 7-6(8-6), 6-3, Medvedev defeated Berrettini 6-2, 6-7(5-7), 6-4, Medvedev and Safiullin defeated Berrettini and Sinner 5-7, 6-4, 10-5.

Australia defeated France 2-1

France ended their journey in the event without a victory as Australia too reached the finish line with an inspiring victory. Arthur Rinderknech gave the home crowd bad news in the opening match as France got their first point, Alex De Minaur was” le destructeur” as he beat Ugo Humbert after losing the first set. In the second set, the Aussie lad saved crucial breakpoints to take the match into the final set. In the doubles, John Peers and Luke Saville saved three match points as they made sure not lose their way at home.

Rinderknech defeated James Duckworth 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), Alex defeated Humbert 3-6, 7-6(7-2), 6-1, Peers and Saville defeated Fabrice Martin and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-2, 5-7, 11-9.

Britain defeated USA 2-1

Britain had hopes of qualifying for the semifinal but it suffered a major breakdown in the first match. Cameron Norrie fell in the last few points of the match which proved to be crucial for the team as Taylor Fritz gave the first point to his team. In the second match, Daniel Evans resisted strong serves against John Isner to give the team chances for a semifinal finish with a win against John Isner. In the final match, Evans again played a key role with Jamie Murray to secure the final point of the tie.

Fritz defeated Norrie 7-6(7-4), 3-6, 6-1, Evans defeated Isner 6-4, 7-6(7-3), Evans and Murray defeated Fritz and Isner 6-7(7-3), 7-5, 10-8.

Canada defeated Germany 2-1

Canada put an end to Britain’s wait as they grabbed the final semifinal spot of the event. The two youngsters confirmed the victory in the first 5 hours of the match. Denis Shapovalov hit 10 plus winners in each set as the left hander did half the job but the next match was a difficult one.  Felix Auger-Aliassime was up against Alexander Zverev as it was expected the German would halt the opposition from reaching the last four but Felix left it all out on court to clinch the match and the tie. The 21 year old lost 6 points at the net out of 23 and saved 7 breakpoints out of 9 to give the team a last four place. In the doubles match, Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz were too late as they won a point for the German side.

Shapovalov defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(7-5), 4-6, 6-3, Felix defeated Zverev 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, Kevin and Tim defeated Steven Diez and Brayden Schnur 6-3, 6-4.

Also read: Poland and Spain end group stage with victories at ATP Cup