Frances Tiafoe staged a dramatic fightback against Stefanos Tsitsipas to secure Team World their first-ever Laver Cup title.
The world No.19 overcame a first set beat down to oust his Greek opponent 1-6, 7-6(11), 10-8, to give his team an unassailable lead in the three-day competition. Tiafoe looked to be on the verge of defeat after dropping the opener in a mere 19 minutes against a fired-up Tsitsipas. However, he weathered the storm by coming through a roller-coaster second set where he saved four match points in the tiebreaker before going on to level the match.
Then in the 10-point tiebreaker, Tiafoe continued to wear down a growing frustrated Tsitsipas who hit a forehand wide to hand the American a duo of match points. After failing to convert his first, he secured victory at the expense of another mistake from across the court. Prompting him to fall to the floor in sheer delight.
“It is an unbelievable feeling,” Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. “Our captain Jonny McEnroe was tired of losing…saying we needed to get it done this year on his fifth try. All week leading up I kept saying this was our year. The guys showed up.”
Entering the final day of the Laver Cup, four-time winners Europe boasted a commanding 8-4 lead in the tie. However, with three points at stake for each match Team World staged a commanding comeback which was started with the help of a double victory from Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian grabbed his first win in the doubles alongside Jack Sock when the duo ousted Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini 2-6, 6-3, 10-8.
There was little time for Auger-Aliassime to celebrate as he returned to court roughly 30 minutes later to take on 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who was playing his first event since Wimbledon. Cheered on by his teammates from the sidelines, he battled to a surprise 7-5, 7-6(1) over his lacklustre opponent. At times Djokovic appeared uncomfortable on the court and appeared to be troubled by his wrist. Raising concerns about his upcoming participation in the Tel Aviv Open in Israel
“Today has been fantastic so far,” Auger-Aliassime said afterwards.
“It has been one of my best performances of my career so far.
“I’ve been close a few times in recent times against these great champions, so it feels great to get a win like this, especially in front of you at this arena and for Team World as well.”
Djokovic’s loss concludes what has been a disappointing showing from the Big Four at the Laver Cup. Roger Federer and doubles partner Rafael Nadal lost their encounter on Friday which was also the final match of the Swiss maestro’s record-breaking career. The following day Nadal withdrew from the competition due to personal reasons. Furthermore, Andy Murray lost both of the matches he played in.
Although 22-year-old for Auger-Aliassime, rubbing shoulders with the quartet is still something he relishes regardless of their results.
“This is the biggest victory of my career. I’m happy. I am glad to be able to observe the “Big Four” here. For young players it is a life experience,” he said.
It is the first time Team World has won the Laver Cup on their fifth attempt. Overall, they won the tie 13-8 with a match in hand. The victory marks a sharp contrast to last year when they were crushed 14-1 in what was the heaviest defeat in Laver Cup history.
“It’s been a long time,” World captain John McEnroe commented. “We’ve been beaten up a couple of times. It looked like we were in trouble. This is a great group of young guys.”
The Laver Cup will take place in Canada next year for the first time at the Roger Arena.
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