Laver Cup: Zverev gives Team Europe victory
Alexander Zverev brought the decisive victory for Team Europe at the Laver Cup in Geneva with a 6: 4, 3: 6, 10: 4 against the Canadian Milos Raonic. After the twelfth and final match of the indoor hard court tournament it was 13:11 for the team from Europe.
by Robert M. Frank
last edit: Sep 22, 2019, 08:33 pm
Alexander Zverev (ATP 6) had to win against the 28-year-old Canadian Milos Raonic (ATP 24) from Team World in order to save Team Europe from a defeat in the Laver Cup. 10:11 had stood before the game from the Europeans point of view after Roger / Federer / Stefanos Tsitsipas in the doubles and Dominic Thiem in the singles had lost on the third and last day in the doubles and only Federer in the singles could collect the only day win for Europe .
In the first sentence everything stayed in order. Raonic always provided with its service and the current German number one followed. With a score of 3: 3, Zverev then made the decisive break to 4: 3. The 11-time ATP tournament winner, who played very well, was no longer able to take this lead and won 6: 4.
In the second set, the Canadian got stronger. While Zverev could no longer rely on his serve as much, Raonic turned up on the other side. After a backhand error, the 22-year-old from Hamburg suffered a break. At the score of 3: 5, Zverev had four chances for the rebreak, but could not use it against the powerful Raonic. The Canadian won the set 6-3 after an ace.
In the decisive match-break, Zverev immediately brought in a mini-break, which Raonic brought back again shortly afterwards. Zverev then won 7-2. The world ranking sixth won this lead and won 10: 4. Team Europe's third win in a row at the Laver Cup was perfect.