BERLIN/STARNBERG, September 22, 2024
Taylor Fritz headlined Saturday’s action at the Laver Cup by securing his seventh Top 10 win of 2024. The Team World star defeated Team Europe’s Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-5. Fritz staged a comeback from 2-4 down in the second set, sealing a one-hour, 57-minute victory. This marks his third consecutive tour-level win over Zverev and helped propel Team World towards an 8-4 lead after Day 2 in Berlin.
Taylor Fritz turned in a strong performance for Team World. pic.twitter.com/kEWL9TfNOT
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 21, 2024
“I think over the years we have always had close matches,” said Fritz in his post-match press conference of his rivalry with Zverev. “I think the games match up well. I can serve and hang in there with my serve, because he’s very tough to break. You have to have a good serve to stay in the match with him or else he’s just going to serve you out of the match.
“His backhand is incredibly good. I think my backhand is my stronger side, too, so I feel like maybe I can neutralise and hang with him on that side where maybe some people wouldn’t be able to stay in a pattern. But the biggest thing is I have just been playing well.”
Ben Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo capitalized on Fritz’s momentum, delivering a dominant doubles performance for Team World. The duo cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final match of the day. Their victory extended Team World’s lead to 8-4 as they head into Day 3 of the Laver Cup, where four matches worth three points each await.
“We need two wins, and I think we’re going to come out tomorrow in the doubles guns blazing,” said Team World’s captain John McEnroe. “I like our chances, and hopefully if we win that, we need one out of three [singles matches]. Team Europe are great, three of the top four players in the world are in Team Europe, so we know we’ve got our hands full, but we are totally psyched for tomorrow.”
Earlier on Saturday, Frances Tiafoe earned the first two points of the day for Team World following a 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 victory over Daniil Medvedev in one hour and 35 minutes and Carlos Alcaraz was the only winner of the day for Team Europe. The Spaniard beat Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes.
Laver Cup DAY 2 RESULTS
Who will clinch the title on Day 3?
Be there to witness the winning team raise the trophy: https://t.co/iTswL4sdGS#shareubs pic.twitter.com/TbpKag8FHC
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 21, 2024
