Russia win the Davis Cup

Acasuso, a late substitute for Juan Ignacio Chela, battled bravely against his opponent but could not prevent Safin from completing a 6-3 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7/5) victory.

Safin took the decider on his second match-point as Acasuso netted a forehand to spark jubilant scenes among the home crowd.

Earlier, Argentina's David Nalbandian had beaten Nikolay Davydenko 6-2 6-2 4-6 6-4 to take the final to the deciding rubber but the South Americans eventually had to settle for second best.