Brilliant Shelton puts Team World on verge of Laver Cup victory after win over Medvedev
Team World just need to win one of the remaining two matches to win the competition for the third straight time
© Zuma / Panoramic
Ben Shelton put Team World on the verge of a third straight Laver Cup victory as he came from behind to beat Daniil Medvedev 6-7, 7-5, 10-7 on Sunday to give them an 11-7 lead in Berlin.
The American saved four break points in the second set, broke once to level the match and then played brilliantly in the match tiebreak to give Team World another crucial victory, having lost the doubles to Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud earlier in the day.
“I wanted to redeem myself after this morning,” Shelton said. “Obviously lost my singles yesterday, didn’t want to come out winless. My team-mates really helped me over the line. I played singles and doubles yesterday and today and I’m pretty cooked. I’m glad we got this win and we’re still fighting for this title.”
Frances Tiafoe can seal the win for Team World if he beats Alexander Zverev while Alcaraz is due to face Taylor Fritz in the final match, if required.
Medvedev loses his TEMPER – AND HIS WAY
Medvedev snatched the first set on the tiebreak, but not before he risked default when, having fallen behind 6-4, he threw his racket in anger and saw it bounce into the stands. Luckily for him, it didn’t hit anyone, and he escaped with a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.
It didn’t seem to affect the Russian, though, as he won the next four points to snatch the set and for large parts of the second, he seemed the most likely winner.
But Shelton dug deep on serve, beginning to serve and volley more and more, taking advantage of Medvedev’s deep return position. At 3-4, he served his way out of trouble and when he got his chance at 5-5, he took it, Medvedev dumping a smash in the net. Shelton had the momentum going into the match tiebreak and held his nerve to win it 10-7 and restore his team’s four-point lead, with two matches to go.
Alcaraz and Ruud come to the party
Team World took an 8-4 lead into the day but Alcaraz and Ruud came to the party in a big way with a surprise 6-2, 7-6 (6) win over Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.
Ruud had looked completely out of sorts on Saturday evening when he and Alexander Zverev were well-beaten by Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo.
But the Norwegian picked up his game brilliantly, as did Alcaraz, as they cut Team World’s lead to just one point.
Thirteen points are required to win the competition, with three points on offer for the winners of each match on the final day.
Day 1 results (each victory = 1 point):
- Cerundolo (World) b. Ruud (Europe): 6-4, 6-4 | World 1-0 Europe
- Tsitsipas (E) b. Kokkinakis (W): 6-1, 6-4 | World 1-1 Europe
- Dimitrov (E) b. Tabilo (W): 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) | World 1-2 Europe
- Fritz/Ben Shelton (W) b. Zverev/Alcaraz (E): 7-6 (5), 6-4 | World 2-2 Europe
Day 2 results (each victory = 2 points):
- Tiafoe (World) b. Medvedev (Europe): 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 | World 4-2 Europe
- Alcaraz (Europe) b. Shelton (World) : 6-4, 6-4 | World 4-4 Europe
- Fritz (World) b. Zverev (Europe) : 6-4, 7-5 | World 6-4 Europe
- Shelton/Tabilo (World) b. Tstisipas/Ruud (Europe) : 6-1, 6-2 | World 8-4 Europe
Day 3 results (each victory = 3 points):
- Alcaraz/Ruud (Europe) b. Shelton/Tiafoe (Europe): 6-2, 7-6 (6) | World 8-7 Europe
- Shelton (World) b. Medvedev (Europe): 6-7 (6), 7-5, 10-7 | World 11-7 Europe
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