Who will win the Laver Cup is not the question heading into the final day of competition.
That was never really the question, after all. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion given the wildly lopsided teams. Every one of Europe’s guys is in the top 10, while the World has no such player on its roster. Fast forward (mercifully for the World) through the first two days and the outcome is even less in doubt than it was at the start, with the Europeans boasting a ridiculous 11-1 lead. They have won seven of eight matches.
After losing the doubles rubber on Friday night, Alexander Zverev remarked that it would be the last–and only–point that the home team would win.
So, that is the only question left. Will Zverev prove to be correct, or will Team World at least manage to point some pride points on the board on Sunday?
So far far the fourth-ranked German’s prediction is right on the money. For the first time in the four-year history of the Laver Cup, one side swept all four matches on a single day. Team Europe took the three singles rubbers and the doubles tilt on Saturday, extending its advantage from two points to 10. Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Daniil Medvedev took care of business in singles before Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev prevailed in doubles.
“We are on the way,” said European captain Bjorn Borg, who is poised to improve his Laver Cup record to 4-0. “We always have a great team spirit on Team Europe. We are happy, but we’re not there yet.”
Borg is looking to cap off a dominant weekend by sending Rublev and Zverev to the court in doubles. A singles lineup of Zverev, Medvedev, and Tsitsipas will follow.
It should be noted from a mathematical standpoint Team World is not officially out of it. Captain John McEnroe’s squad can still win if it takes all four matches on Sunday. McEnroe has to hope for a miracle in the form of a Reilly Opelka-Denis Shapovalov doubles pairing followed by a singles slate featuring Felix Auger-Aliassime, Diego Schwartzman, and John Isner. Shapovalov and Isner provided the World’s only point by defeating Zverev and Matteo Berrettini in doubles on Friday.
Can Team World find some more points on Sunday? It’s possible.
A complete comeback? Absolutely not.
Team Europe knows it has the 2021 trophy in the bag. And it is so confident–for good reason–that it is already looking ahead to more domination in the future.
“We are all so young,” Medvedev commented. “I think that’s great, because if we talk about the Laver Cup we can be there for next 10 years if we remain the same ranking. If I’m going to play it again, no matter how many times, I will always want Team Europe to win.”
well, they did