LONDON (AP) — Alexander Zverev further distinguished his successful season by clinching critical points that led Team Europe to victory in the Laver Cup on Sunday. Zverev, who captured his first two Grand Slam titles this year at the French Open and U.S. Open, defeated Learner Tien 7-6 (3), 6-3, contributing to a 13-5 triumph for Europe.
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This match marked a comeback for Zverev after suffering a loss to Alex de Minaur on Saturday, which ended his nine-match winning streak in singles. Tien, ranked 13th, had earned his spot on the team following a win over Flavio Cobolli in his Laver Cup debut on Saturday.
Last year, Team World won the event in San Francisco, but with this latest victory, Europe has now claimed six of the nine editions of the Ryder Cup-style competition. Earlier in the day, Cobolli and Jakub Mensik extended Europe's lead by defeating De Minaur and Taylor Fritz 7-5, 6-3 in doubles.
Zverev's victory ensured that Europe would win with three matches still to be played, allowing Carlos Alcaraz to remain off the court for the final match against De Minaur. Alcaraz had won a doubles match with Mensik on Friday and a singles match against Fritz on Saturday. In this format, matches on Friday are worth one point, Saturday matches are worth two points, and those on Sunday are worth three, with a total of 13 points needed to win.