Team World wins its first-ever Laver Cup originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Team World won their first-ever Laver Cup in the tournament's history on Sunday.
The team tournament came down to the wire as American Frances Tiafoe defeated Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-6, 7-6, 10-8 to clinch the event 13-8 in London.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Starting the day, Team Europe was ahead 8-4 but Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime came out guns blazing to upset Serbia’s Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6 while Auger-Aliassime and American Jack Sock knocked out England’s Andy Murray and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in doubles in a third set tiebreaker.
If Team Europe had won any of these three matches on Sunday, the last singles match between American Taylor Fritz and Norway’s Casper Ruud would have been played to decide the fate of the championship.
The remarkable performance from Team World led team captain John McEnroe to win his first title in five tries against a star-studded 2022 Team Europe.
Sports
“Amazing would be an understatement right now, " McEnroe said after the win. "It has been a long time and we have been beat up a few times but we have come so close... we kept battling.”
The championship win comes as Team Europe faced various shifts in their lineup throughout the weekend, including Rafael Nadal exiting the event after day 1 due to “personal reasons” and Roger Federer’s retirement on Friday, bumping two alternates in.
The Laver Cup began on Friday, Sept. 23 and concluded on Sunday, Sept. 25 at the O2 Arena in London and will return to action in September 2023 in Vancouver.
