Berlin: Frances Tiafoe caught fire on Saturday as he rallied past Team Europe’s Daniil Medvedev to give Team World a lead in the Laver Cup tennis competition. The brilliant form on Saturday from Tiafoe helped Team World rally past Team Europe’s Medvedev 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 to give his side a 4-2 lead in Berlin. Carlos Alcaraz later levelled for Team Europe with a victory against Ben Shelton.
Tiafoe, who said he felt that he was playing like Roger Federer, is playing some of the best tennis of his career, having just reached the US Open semifinals for the first time after making the final in Cincinnati.
The American entered the match facing a 0-5 ATP head-to-head deficit against Medvedev but did not let that intimidate him. He played freely in the critical moments and had a blast on court even when losing points.
After one Medvedev shot drew Tiafoe to his side of the court, the American did his signature sprinkling celebration to compliment his opponent.
“Honestly I just started having fun and laughing with my team, laughing with my team over there and here. Just having a bit of fun and started finding my rhythm,” Tiafoe said in an on-court interaction. “The courts are obviously much slower than I’m used to playing on, so it’s tough playing Daniil on this court. But after the second set, midway into the second and in the tie-break, I felt like I was Roger Federer, honestly,” he said.
Alcaraz performed nearly flawlessly to defeat Shelton 6-4, 6-4, squaring the Laver Cup at 4-4.
The Spaniard fell in his Laver Cup debut Friday evening in doubles alongside Alexander Zverev but bounced back against the big-serving American. In a high-quality clash, Shelton did little wrong. Alcaraz was just slightly better, saving all five break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats.
IANS
