The first match of the second day of the 2024 Laver Cup in Berlin was won by Team World as Frances Tiafoe bested Daniil Medvedev.
Both players don't mind playing longer rallies, and due to how the court in Berlin plays, this match had some long rallies. Tiafoe was the first one to create a break chance in the match, but he couldn't convert it.
Medvedev then got a few in the very next game, and he converted his chances to take a 3-2 lead in the opening set of the match. He then held from 15-30 down to make it 4-2.
It was a tight matchup, as Medvedev was a bit unlucky to start, and once that flipped, he was able to get ahead. Medvedev had a slow start to the match, but the longer they played, the better the Russian looked.
Tiafoe became quite overwhelmed soon, and as soon as the Russian was able to turn on his grinder, he was beating Team World player easily. The American ran into more problems down 3-5, and another break sealed the opening set for Medvedev, who won it 6-3.
It didn't seem like Tiafoe knew what to do, as he tried to do too much, which backfired, as he made 10 unforced errors. It wasn't too much, but he didn't have enough winners to compensate for that, while Medvedev was much more balanced, and for the most part, he played far better in the crucial moments.
The first set flipped midway through when Tiafoe failed to convert his break points and ended up losing his serve in the very next game. The American needed to bring more juice to the second set, and that's what both John McEnroe and Taylor Fritz told him during the set break.
He can't slack off when playing Medvedev because the Russian won't. He did just that by playing a big opening game to break Medvedev. Team World player then held for a 2-0 lead, making this match suddenly much more interesting.
Tiafoe continued playing well and keeping his serve. Medvedev wasn't finding the gaps he was finding in the opening set. The Russian tried his best to break as the second set went on, but Tiafoe was still able to keep the lead he got
Tiafoe won the second set 6-4, and it was time for the decider, which was a match tie-break to 10 points. Both had equal chances because Tiafoe had already found a good level.
The first four points didn't see any surprise, but then Tiafoe put a return on the line, and it was 3-2 for him. After Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz lost their doubles match last night, Team Europe needed this win, but Team World was able to get it as Tiafoe kept applying pressure, and Medvedev had no solutions. Tiafoe won the tie-break 10-5 to win the match 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 and give Team World a 4-2 lead.
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