By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, September 21, 2024
Taylor Fritz topped Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo delivered a doubles win to put Team World on the brink of a third straight Laver Cup.
Photo credit: Maja Hitij/Getty for Laver Cup
Left-handers Ben Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo delivered dynamic doubles to propel Team World to the brink of a Laver Cup three-peat.
Tabilo threw down a smash putting an exclamation point on a dominant 6-1, 6-2 doubles dismissal of Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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Lefty pair Shelton and Tabilo powered Team World to an 8-4 lead over Team Europe heading into Sunday’s final day of play where each win is worth three points.
The 69-minute doubles victory came after US Open finalist Taylor Fritz defeated home hero Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-5 to put World ahead 6-4.
It was a bounce back win for Shelton, who played an inspired singles match during the day session but fell to four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-4. Shelton said he was seeking redemption on the doubles court.
“In this team format you gotta a teammate on the court and four more on the sidelines,” Shelton told Jason Goodall afterward. “So for me it feels like a lot of support, along with our captains, kind of leading the way.
“I love playing out here. I love this format—singles and doubles—and I couldn’t get it done in singles today, too good for Carlitos, but I wanted to come out here and redeem myself tonight. Alejandro put me on his back a little bit and we were able to get it done. So really happy.”
The first team to 13 points wins the Laver Cup.
Team World is two victories away from clinching its third consecutive Laver Cup championship in captain John McEnroe’s farewell.
“We’re totally pumped for tomorrow—team world baby!” captain John McEnroe told Jason Goodall and the Berlin crowd. “We need two wins. I think we’re gonna come out tomorrow in the doubles gun blazing.
“I like our chances and then hopefully, if we get through that, we need one of the three [singles]. These guys are great. Three or four of the Top 5 ranked players are from Europe. So we know we’ve got our hands full. We’re totally psyched for tomorrow. It would be amazing to go out in style, but I’m sure Bjorn feels the same way too. We’re coming big and we’re going for it tomorrow.”
Team World’s left-handers set the tone at the start.
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Shelton clubbed a couple of crackling forehands to help World earn break point on Ruud’s serve. Tabilo torched a backhand right at netman Tsitsipas, clanging out the volley error to break for 2-0. Tabilo immediately confirmed the break for 3-0.
Swarming forward, Team World exploited Ruud at net and exploited a Tsitsipas double fault scoring their second straight break for 4-0.
The most pumped-up player on the court, Shelton slammed down a love hold as Tabilo angled off a volley for a 5-0 lead after just 17 minutes of play. The red side won 22 of the first 29 points.
Twenty-four minutes into the match, Ruud saved a pair of set points to hold for 1-5—and prevent the prospect of just the second bagel set in Laver Cup history.
Team World converted its fourth set point as Tabilo served out a lopsided 27-minute opening set.
Teeing off on his forehand, Shelton scalded a return right back at server Tsitsipas, who banged his knee with the handle of his racquet and missed the reply to face break point. Tabilo dipped a forehand at Tsitsipas’ shoelaces forcing an errant volley as it broke to start the second set.
Frustrations erupted as Tsitsipas rifled a 100 mph-plus forehand right at Shelton’s head. Shelton ducked the missile and stared down the Greek for a bit as World confirmed the break for 2-0.
On the verge of going down double break for the second straight set, Ruud rallied from triple break point down, pumping an ace to hold for 1-2.
That hold roused Team Europe, which had backed off the net. Tsitispas and Ruud were ripping forehands from the baseline and gaining traction.
A tenacious Tabilo fended off a couple of break points—catching a break when Ruud missed a backhand return down the line—fighting through a tense six deuce game to hold for 4-2.
Playing the deuce side of the court, Shelton was unleashing heavy forehands. The 2023 US Open semifinalist went toe-to-toe with Ruud in a forehand exchange forcing a netted reply as World broke again for 5-2.
Tabilo spiked a smash to end a commanding 69-minute win.
Taylor Fritz (World) d. Alexander Zverev (Europe) 6-4, 7-5
Major meetings have become common clashes for Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev.
In a Laver Cup rematch of heavy hitters, Fritz had the last word beating Zverev before his home Berlin fans 6-4, 7-5.
Fritz hammered 27 winners—16 more than Zverev—and saved four of five break points to put two-time defending champion Team World up 6-4 over Team Europe.
US Open finalist Fritz beat Zverev for the third time in a row this year—after victories in the Wimbledon round of 16 and US Open quarterfinals—to take a 6-5 lead in their head-to-head series.
“We played quite a bit when I was a bit younger,” Fritz told Andrea Petkovic in his on-court interview. “Sasha has been at the top for a very long time. For me it’s still a bit newer.
“We kind of would always go back and forth for a while. He’s pretty due. I’ve been fortunate enough to play some good matches these last few times. It’s something that I’ve been working on for a very long time so it’s good to hear that it’s been getting better. I’m always working on coming forward more and it’s adding more variety to my game.”
The Fritz win over world No. 2 Zverev came hours after teammate Frances Tiafoe topped fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 during the day session.
It’s the first time Team World has beaten two Top-10 Team Europe singles opponents in the same day at Laver Cup.
In a rematch of the US Open quarterfinals, each man saved a break point in opening service holds. Fritz played with more energy throughout as Zverev, coughing at times on changeovers, was sometimes bending over at the waist and gulping deep breaths after bruising, physical points.
Contesting his fourth Laver Cup, Fritz found his groove on serve after that opening game. Looping a lob winner and lasering his third ace, Fritz held for 5-4.
The two-handed backhand is Zverev’s rock-solid shot, but he sprayed two in a row to fall into a love-30 hole for the second straight serve game. Lifting up off a mid-court forehand, Zverev sent his shot long to face triple set point.
In the ensuing 13-shot rally, Fritz challenged the German to hit his forehand down the line. Zverev tried and netted it ending the 47-minute set with a four-error game.
Asserting his authority from the center of the court with his forehand, Fritz hit 14 winners—nine more than Zverev—in the opening set. The US Open finalist’s footwork on the midcourt ball was more decisive—Fritz did more damage with mid-court forehands than Zverev in that first set.
The French Open finalist’s quickness around the court and length helped him earn break point in the third game. Fritz dubbed a drop shot to save it.
Though Zverev is a devoted baseliner, he played a pair of tremendous points near net to incite the break for 2-1. Jabbing a sharp volley off the court, Zverev left a sprawling Fritz crashing to the court near captain John McEnroe’s seat scoring his first break of the day.
Fritz came right back with break point pressure, but Zverev withstood it. The German got some help during a lung-busting 29-shot rally when Fritz pushed a backhand volley long. Had he opted for the drop volley, Fritz likely would have won the point. Instead, Zverev dropped to a crouch surviving the point and eventually the game for 3-1.
Earning a break point, Zverev had a shot to break for 5-2, but could not convert. Zverev flagged a forehand into net in the eighth game to face a break point. On the stretch, Fritz flicked back a lob and a leaping Zverev botched a smash long dropping serve as the American leveled, 4-all.
A fired-up Fritz slashed a forehand strike down the line and hurled a huge uppercut to start the ninth game. Fritz painted the opposite sideline with a backhand bolt that helped him hold for 5-4.
Pacing slowly behind the baseline between points, Zverev shoveled a slice backhand error to drop into a love-30 hole. Though Zeverv held firm for 5-all, Fritz scored the match-ending break in the 12th game.
Stepping into the court, Fritz fired his 19th forehand winner off the sideline to end it with a bang—and credit for his captain.
“John’s great on the bench just keeping me fired up,” Fritz said. “How can you not look at Johnny Mac on the bench and not get fired up.”
Laver Cup Results for Saturday, September 21
Team World 8, Team Europe 4
Match 8
Ben Shelton/Alejandro Tabilo (World) d. Casper Ruud/Stefanos Tsitsipas (Europe) 6-1, 6-2
Match 7
Taylor Fritz (World) d. Alexander Zverev (Europe) 6-4, 7-5
Match 6
Carlos Alcaraz (Europe) d. Ben Shelton (World) 6-4, 6-4
Match 5
Frances Tiafoe (World) d. Daniil Medvedev (Europe) 3-6, 6-4, 10-5
Laver Cup Results for Friday, September 20
Team World 2, Team Europe 2
Match 4
Taylor Fritz/Ben Shelton (World) d. Carlos Alcaraz/Alexander Zverev (Europe) 7-6(5), 6-4
Match 3
Grigor Dimitrov (Europe) d. Alejandro Tabilo (World) 7-6(4), 7-6(2)
Match 2
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Europe) d. Thanasi Kokkinakis (World) 6-1, 6-4
Match 1
Francisco Cerundolo (World) d. Casper Ruud (Europe) 6-4, 6-4