Laver Cup: Rest of the World leads 8-4

The second day of the Laver Cup in Berlin ends with the rest of the world in an incredible lead over Europe, which is clearly favoured on paper. The team led by John McEnroe leads 8-4, having won three of the four matches on Saturday which (remember, it is still a lucrative offer) provided many surprises. Frances Tiafoe beat world number five Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 4-6, 5-10 in one hour and 37 minutes, showing a level of tennis (“If only he always played like this…”, said the Russian at the end of the match) and confirming that he is the fittest at the moment. Then Carlos Alcaraz momentarily brought everything back to level, winning the second singles, rather easily, against American Ben Shelton in doubles 6-4 in just over an hour and three quarters of play. The Spaniard, number three in the world, gave the Uber Arena crowd a show, with Roger Federer (in dark glasses) in raptures.

Fritz Virginia

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The rest of the world is still ahead with Taylor Fritz, who beat Sascha Zverev for the third time in a row 6-4, 7-5 with a knockout that hurt the world number two who was leading 4-2 in the second set with two balls to go at 5-2 and serving. It seems that the German’s mental limitations are not only due to the pressure of the event. The rest of the world then ended Saturday on a high by also winning the doubles with left-handers Shelton and Thapelo, who have conceded only three games to Ruud and Tsitsipas (final score 6-2, 6-1). But the last word has not yet been said for Europe, led by Bjorn Borg, knowing that Sunday’s matches are worth three points each, so there is still time to turn the tables and avoid the ignominy of a third straight defeat to the rest of the world.