Team Europe fight back to defeat Team World 13-8 and retain the Laver Cup
Monday 24 September 2018 12:00, UK
Alexander Zverev edged out Kevin Anderson in another tense match tie-break to help Team Europe defend their Laver Cup crown against Team World in Chicago on Sunday.
The German world No 5 battled back from a set down to defeat Wimbledon finalist Anderson 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 10-7 and hand Bjorn Borg's side an unassailable 13-8 lead in the tournament.
Zverev's win came with one singles rubber to spare at the United Center and sees Europe hold onto the title they won at the inaugural edition of the tournament in Prague last year.
Majestic Federer fends off Isner
"It was such a close match all around, I mean not only this one but the whole weekend," said Zverev. "A few few points here and there could have changed the whole thing.
"I'm just happy to get the win for the team and we defended the title. I mean, Roger (Federer) is not a good coach, but we will leave that. No, he helped me a lot, he gave me some tactical advice and it worked because I won the second set and then the match tie-break."
Anderson took the first set on a tie-break, but the German had a break in the second to take it. He then went on to win five points in a row to take the deciding tie-break 10-7 to push the men in blue over the magical 13-point mark.
Sock and Isner win epic doubles
Earlier in the day, Federer had beaten John Isner in an epic, but the Swiss star and Zverev went down to Isner and Jack Sock in a doubles classic.
Team World captain John McEnroe vowed to win the tournament, saying: "I am so proud of these guys, it's awesome to be a captain for Team World. We've got great camaraderie and damn it we're going to win this one next year."
Debutant Kyle Edmund won his only game on Friday against Jack Sock, while fellow first-timers Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin won their singles matches on Friday but lost as a doubles pair to Nick Kyrgios and Jack Sock on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic, the current world No 3, would have faced Kyrgios in the final singles tie after two straight defeats at the United Center - once with Federer as a pair against Anderson and Sock and again to Anderson on Saturday in the singles.
The beautiful lakeside city of Geneva will host the next Laver Cup from September 20-22, 2019.
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