By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday September 25, 2021
On Friday the Laver Cup showed that it can captivate the imagination of tennis fans even without the game’s biggest stars in attendance. The crowds at TD Garden in Boston enthusiastically devoured the tennis on Day 1, backing Team World despite the fact that Team Europe nearly swept the day and closed out Friday’s four-match suite with a 3-1 lead.
But John Isner and Denis Shapovalov gave Team World fans something to remember as they reeled off 17 of the final 20 points to defeat Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Zverev.
And after the contest Shapovalov added a bit of fuel to the fire as he talked to reporters. Reportedly the Canadian overheard Zverev saying that Team World’s doubles victory would be the last point they earn all weekend.
Shapovalov was having no part of that.
“I want to say if we weren't motivated before, apparently Sascha Zverev was saying that's the last point we're going to get, so we're definitely super hungry to come back and try to win every single match,” he said. “We're going to fight for every single point tomorrow.”
Reportedly there was some more chatter from Team World regarding Zverev’s words. Ben Rothenberg caught this bit of live video and audio from a changeover, where the team, led by McEnroe, badmouthed Zverev.
Could that rumored bit of trash talk from Zverev be the springboard to a big day for Team World? The action kicks off with a much anticipated tussle between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios at 1PM Eastern time. Stay tuned.
And, while you wait, have a glance at the full Day 2 order of play at Laver Cup, keeping in mind that all of Saturday’s matches count for two points, compared to one on Friday.