Alexander Zverev won the final match for Team Europe in last year's Laver Cup and put in a repeat effort on Sunday in Geneva. The German defeated Milos Raonic 6-4, 3-6, 10-4 to complete a successful title defence for the home team.
Team Europe defeated Team World 13-11 after three exciting days of play and has won the Laver Cup crown in all three years of the competition. Each winning team member will also receive $250,000.
“It was an unbelievable weekend. My team was screaming at me in the locker room before the Match Tie-break, saying this is how I could turn my season around. Without all of these guys on the bench, I couldn’t have done it,” Zverev said. “This is very special, especially playing in front of those guys and having them trust me to play the last match.”
Zverev improved to 5-1 in singles, while Raonic fell to 0-2. He also tied his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Raonic at 2-2.
Zverev laced a forehand winner at 3-3 in the opening set to break Raonic and went on to take the early advantage. Raonic responded in the second set by breaking Zverev at 3-2, then bravely saved four break points on his serve at 5-3 to force a Match Tie-break.
But it was the Canadian who blinked first with the title on the line, hitting a pair of backhand errors to give Zverev a 5/2 advantage. The German nailed a forehand winner on match point and collapsed to the ground in delight after one hour and 29 minutes.
Federer kept Team Europe's title defense alive with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over John Isner. Federer leads Isner 8-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry and has won both of their Laver Cup singles matches. The Swiss is undefeated (6-0) in singles at this event, while Isner dropped to 2-4.
”I’m very excited. What an atmosphere and what a match. I’m thrilled that I was able to give something back to the team after a tough Match Tie-break (in doubles) earlier today,” Federer said. “Team Europe has been amazIng. They’ve fought so hard and played so well.”
Federer came out firing and nailed a passing shot winner at 2-2 to earn the lone break of the match. The Swiss remained flawless on serve, winning 83 per cent of his service points (20/24) to grab the opening set.
Both players held serve throughout the second set, but Federer was forced to save a set point at 5-6. He raised his game even further in the tie-break, rifling a forehand winner for a 5/3 mini-break lead and hitting a big first serve to wrap up the match after one hour and 26 minutes.
Earlier in the day, Team World staged a dramatic comeback as Isner/Jack Sock defeated Federer/Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz won a thrilling battle against Dominic Thiem.
It was also announced that the 2020 Laver Cup will be held in Boston. Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg and Team World captain John McEnroe confirmed that they will reprise their roles next year.
atptour.com
Well we didn't get Fedal in doubles on the final day (due to Rafa being injured).
But I thought Tsitsipas did outstanding his 2nd time around in the doubles with Fed. Didn't do as well when he played with Nadal the first day.
They still lost, but boy did Tsitsipas provide a lot of shots for the highlight reel.
Roger kept a perfect 6-0 record in singles at Laver Cup with the Isner defeat. He may be 38, but the man knows how to turn it on for a home crowd when it's needed.
Kudos to Rafa and Roger for having faith in Sascha who brought it home again. This is definitely the best he's played all year, who knows it might even turn his season and game around.
I felt a bit sorry for poor Bautista Augut who they didn't utilize at all, so all he did was sit on the bench for 3 days. Something tells me they regret it given how Fognini played.
And I honestly thought they were going to lose this one, especially once I found out Rafa was out today, but Zvarev clinched it just as he did last year.
I don't know what the future of this event will bring without Roger in it, but I hope it remains as fun.
Already looking forward to Boston 2020.
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