Left-handers Ben Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo delivered dynamic doubles to propel Team World to the brink of a Laver Cup three-peat.
Tabilo threw down a smash putting an exclamation point on a dominant 6-1, 6-2 doubles dismissal of Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Lefty pair Shelton and Tabilo powered Team World to an 8-4 lead over Team Europe heading into Sunday’s final day of play where each win is worth three points.
The 69-minute doubles victory came after US Open finalist Taylor Fritz defeated home hero Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-5 to put World ahead 6-4.
It was a bounce back win for Shelton, who played an inspired singles match during the day session but fell to four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-4. Shelton said he was seeking redemption on the doubles court.
“In this team format you gotta a teammate on the court and four more on the sidelines,” Shelton told Jason Goodall afterward. “So for me it feels like a lot of support, along with our captains, kind of leading the way.
“I love playing out here. I love this format—singles and doubles—and I couldn’t get it done in singles today, too good for Carlitos, but I wanted to come out here and redeem myself tonight. Alejandro put me on his back a little bit and we were able to get it done. So really happy.”
The first team to 13 points wins the Laver Cup.
Team World is two victories away from clinching its third consecutive Laver Cup championship in captain John McEnroe’s farewell.
“We’re totally pumped for tomorrow—team world baby!” captain John McEnroe told Jason Goodall and the Berlin crowd. “We need two wins. I think we’re gonna come out tomorrow in the doubles gun blazing.
“I like our chances and then hopefully, if we get through that, we need one of the three [singles]. These guys are great. Three or four of the Top 5 ranked players are from Europe. So we know we’ve got our hands full. We’re totally psyched for tomorrow. It would be amazing to go out in style, but I’m sure Bjorn feels the same way too. We’re coming big and we’re going for it tomorrow.”
Team World’s left-handers set the tone at the start.
Shelton clubbed a couple of crackling forehands to help World earn break point on Ruud’s serve. Tabilo torched a backhand right at netman Tsitsipas, clanging out the volley error to break for 2-0. Tabilo immediately confirmed the break for 3-0.
Swarming forward, Team World exploited Ruud at net and exploited a Tsitsipas double fault scoring their second straight break for 4-0.
Taylor Fritz (World) d. Alexander Zverev (Europe) 6-4, 7-5
Major meetings have become common clashes for Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev.
In a Laver Cup rematch of heavy hitters, Fritz had the last word beating Zverev before his home Berlin fans 6-4, 7-5.
Fritz hammered 27 winners—16 more than Zverev—and saved four of five break points to put two-time defending champion Team World up 6-4 over Team Europe.
Laver Cup Results for Saturday, September 21
Team World 8, Team Europe 4
Match 8
Ben Shelton/Alejandro Tabilo (World) d. Casper Ruud/Stefanos Tsitsipas (Europe) 6-1, 6-2
Match 7
Taylor Fritz (World) d. Alexander Zverev (Europe) 6-4, 7-5
Match 6
Carlos Alcaraz (Europe) d. Ben Shelton (World) 6-4, 6-4
Match 5
Frances Tiafoe (World) d. Daniil Medvedev (Europe) 3-6, 6-4, 10-5
Laver Cup Results for Friday, September 20
Team World 2, Team Europe 2
Match 4
Taylor Fritz/Ben Shelton (World) d. Carlos Alcaraz/Alexander Zverev (Europe) 7-6(5), 6-4
Match 3
Grigor Dimitrov (Europe) d. Alejandro Tabilo (World) 7-6(4), 7-6(2)
Match 2
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Europe) d. Thanasi Kokkinakis (World) 6-1, 6-4
Match 1
Francisco Cerundolo (World) d. Casper Ruud (Europe) 6-4, 6-4
