Russia won the Davis Cup 3-2 over Argentina on Sunday as Marat Safin defeated Jose Acasuso 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to hand the nation a second trophy after a defeat of France in 2002.
Safin was mobbed by his overjoyed teammates even before he could reach the net to shake hands with Acasuso as the Argentine put a forehand into the net after saving one match point.
The tie was the fourth of the past six finals of the worldwide team competition to reach a deciding fifth rubber. Argentina also lost a final a quarter of a century ago in Cincinnati against the US.
Safin, a two-time Grand Slam winner and former No. 1 who has struggled with knee problems, was thrown into the breach after David Nalbandian upset Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to start the final day.
Safin showed his intentions to seal the tie as he swept up the opening set in 30 minutes, emphasizing his determination with 16 aces during the contest lasting nearly three hours.
"It was a tough fifth match," the winner said. "I was expecting Nikolay to win, but unfortunately he couldn't make it."
"Our captain decided to put me in the final match. I was struggling with my knees and my toes due to this [carpet] surface. There was a lot of pressure for me, but it all came out pretty well," he said.
Acasuso fought back to level as he lifted the second set, only to see Safin regain the momentum as he lifted the third. The fourth went into a tiebreaker, with Safin reaching a 5-2 lead.
Acasuso recovered to 4-5 but a Safin service winner gave the Russian two match points to the thunderous cheers of a capacity crowd waving blue-red and white Russian flags.
As the celebrations began, non-playing Mikhail Youzhny led the jubilation. Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin, the nation's number 1 ticket holder, quickly got into the act, along with Safin's mother -- his first coach -- rushing onto court to hug her son.
"We tried to play our best game," Safin said. "Acasuo was playing well form the baseline. But my experience made the difference today. The crowd enjoyed it, and I'm pretty happy."
Safin called this Davis Cup title "the most valuable" compared to the one the side lifted over France four years ago.
Russia's victory confirmed the country's status as the world's most powerful tennis nation on both the men's and women's sides through the likes of Safin, Davydenko and on the women's side: Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova.
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