Berlin, Sep 22 (IANS) Frances Tiafoe defeated Team Europe's Daniil Medvedev on Saturday to give Team World the lead in the Laver Cup tennis competition. Tiafoe's stellar performance on Saturday helped Team World beat Team Europe's Medvedev 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 to take a 4-2 lead in Berlin. Carlos Alcaraz later equalised for Team Europe with a win over Ben Shelton.
Tiafoe said he felt he was playing like Roger Federer, playing the best tennis of his career, reaching the US Open semifinals for the first time after reaching the final in Cincinnati.
The American entered the match trailing 0-5 in ATP head-to-heads against Medvedev, but that did not deter him. He played freely in crucial moments and had fun on court despite losing points.
After a shot from Medvedev brought Tiafoe to his side of the court, the American did his signature sprinkling celebration to show his appreciation for his opponent.
“Honestly, I just started having fun and laughing with my team. Just having a little bit of fun and starting to find my rhythm,” Tiafoe said in an on-court chat. “The courts are obviously a lot slower than what I'm used to playing on, so it's hard to play with Medvedev on this court. But after the second set, in the middle of the second set and in the tie-break, I honestly felt like I was Roger Federer.”
Alcaraz nearly pulled off a stunning performance to beat Shelton 6–4, 6–4 and tie the Laver Cup tie at 4–4.
The Spaniard lost his first match in doubles with Alexander Zverev at the Laver Cup on Friday evening but bounced back against the big-serving American. Shelton made very few mistakes in a high-quality match. Alcaraz fared slightly better, saving all five break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
-IANS
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