De Minaur saves match point to put Team World ahead at Laver Cup

Alex de Minaur defeated Alexander Zverev in a deciding match tiebreak at the Laver Cup, helping Team World move ahead of Europe at London’s O2 Arena. The Australian recovered from losing the opening set to win 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 11-9. He saved a match point in the first-to-10-point match tiebreak before converting his own opportunity to complete a two-hour victory.

De Minaur also overcame a bloodied right knee after making a diving volley during the match. He said he was pleased to have helped Team World and described the contest as a difficult battle. Zverev had been serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set.

Two double faults allowed de Minaur to break, and the Australian then levelled the match by winning the tiebreak. In the deciding tiebreak, Zverev earned a match point but played a conservative point. De Minaur subsequently created a match point of his own, and Zverev missed a smash.

The Australian finished the contest with a sharp backhand down the line. The result preserved de Minaur’s unbeaten singles record against European opponents in the Laver Cup. It was his fourth singles victory across three editions of the event and his second consecutive win over Zverev, having also beaten him in San Francisco the previous year.

Team World’s lead had earlier been established by Learner Tien, who defeated Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 2-6, 10-7. The combined results overturned Europe’s overnight 3-1 advantage. De Minaur said Team World remained the underdogs but believed it could make an impact.