Despite being games away from losing the match and losing the 2024 Laver Cup, Alexander Zverev stunned with a fascinating comeback against Frances Tiafoe.
With the way the Laver Cup matches have gone this year, Tiafoe stepped up to face Zverev with a chance to clinch the win for his team, leading 11-7 prior to the meeting. The American has done well in those situations in the past, having been part of Team World teams that have won the competition.
In fact, in 2022, he bested Stefanos Tsitsipas to secure the win for Team World. In 2023, it was again Tiafoe and Ben Shelton who gave Team World the win by winning the doubles match on the final day of the competition.
Shelton scored a massive win for his team to give his fellow compatriot a chance to close it out again, but it wouldn't be easy against the home hero and only German player in the competition.
Zverev was under massive pressure to deliver on home soil in Berlin. He generally had a very good time against Tiafoe in the past, beating him seven times before this match.
The American won only one of those matches, so it was a mammoth challenge for him. If Zverev won the match, a superb matchup between Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz would decide the 2024 Laver Cup.
Because of all the factors, it promised to be an entertaining match, and it really was. Both players played very well, with very few chances on either side. Tiafoe had to fend off break points in the opening set, but he did so comfortably.
Zverev didn't even allow a single break point in the opening set, with the end result of all this being a tie-break. It was the natural outcome of a set so close, as both players were very focused and didn’t allow too many chances.
The tie-break was again very close, but ultimately, the American risked more when it came down to it. It paid off as he was able to get the first mini-break at 5-5 to make it 6-5 and then sealed the set with an ace, winning the tie-break 7-5.
It was important for him to win that opening set because momentum was on his side. Zverev once again paid the price for being timid when he needed to step up and take it to the opponent, something Roger Federer told him not to do only a few days ago.
The second set was an interesting one, as both sides expressed plenty of emotions. The tension was palpable as Zverev grew frustrated. At the start of the second set, the German had some minor chances, but he didn't use them, and he was getting frustrated with it.
It almost got him in trouble, as he got a code violation for launching a ball into the ceiling. Tiafoe patiently waited for his chance, and once it came, he broke first in the second set, taking a 3-2 lead.
From there, it seemed like a simple cruise for the American, given how well he was serving, but Zverev was able to break back, leading 5-4 late in the second set. The crucial game of the second set came at 6-5 for Zverev when he was able to get himself to set points and convert one of them to send the match into a match tie-break.
Unlike in the previous two years, when Tiafoe secured Team World the win, he wasn't able to do it this time around. A very close match tie-break became less than close in the final few points as Zverev was able to take an 8-5 lead.
From there, he won the match with two more points to win the match tie-break 10-5 and the match 6-7(5), 7-5, 10-5 to send the 2024 Laver Cup into the deciding match between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz.
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