LONDON (AP) — Alexander Zverev secured a significant milestone in his standout season by winning the decisive matches that retained the Laver Cup for Team Europe on Sunday. Zverev, who celebrated his first two Grand Slam titles this year at the French Open and U.S. Open, triumphed over Learner Tien with a score of 7-6 (3), 6-3, contributing to Europe’s 13-5 victory.
Read More
Zverev has been instrumental in all six of Team Europe's wins in this Ryder Cup-style event and holds the record for the most singles wins in Laver Cup history, totaling eight. "Winning as a team — there’s no better feeling in sports," Zverev stated. "We don’t have enough of it in tennis. Being among these great players you normally see across the net every single week, it’s just fun being out here."
Team World had previously won the event in San Francisco last year. Zverev’s latest performance marked a comeback after suffering a loss to Alex de Minaur on Saturday, ending his nine-match singles winning streak that included his U.S. Open victory and two Davis Cup wins for Germany the previous weekend. "I haven’t won a Laver Cup match in two years, so I’m happy I did it today," he remarked, acknowledging the strong competition from Team World. "Massive credit to the entire Team World. They pushed us all the way again. We had a great team. We have a great team chemistry."
Tien, ranked 13th, secured his position with a win over Flavio Cobolli in his Laver Cup debut. Earlier, Cobolli and Jakub Mensik bolstered Europe’s lead by defeating De Minaur and Taylor Fritz 7-5, 6-3 in doubles. Zverev’s victory effectively clinched the win for Europe with three matches remaining, meaning Carlos Alcaraz did not need to compete against De Minaur in the final match of the day.
"We had three chances to close it out in singles," Zverev noted. "Especially with Carlos playing after me, it gave me a little bit of confidence." Team World captain Andre Agassi congratulated Zverev during the trophy presentation, acknowledging the successful year he has had. Alcaraz contributed to the team's efforts by winning a doubles match with Mensik on Friday and a singles match against Fritz on Saturday. Points were awarded based on performance, with wins valued at one point on Friday, two on Saturday, and three on Sunday, making the first team to reach 13 points the victor.