There followed more input from Federer, a brilliant and concise analysis of why Zverev was losing and what was required to turn the match around. Eventually, he did, beating Anderson and earning the three points necessary to close out the competition.
Four years later, on the final day, Frances Tiafoe fought off four match points versus Stefanos Tsitsipas to clinch Team World’s first victory. “We all did it together; it wasn’t just me,” Tiafoe said that day. “I showed a lot of heart to get this done. This is big.”
What can we expect this coming week? Team Europe consists of five Laver Cup veterans—Ruud, Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas—and a very exciting rookie, Carlos Alcaraz. Team World’s squad features the experienced Shelton, Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Francisco Cerundolo, Thanasi Kokkinakis, and newcomer Alejandro Tabilo. The comparative resumes of each squad make Team Europe a heavy favorite.
And yet, for all that, Laver Cup’s results mean little in shaping the narrative of the tennis year. No one will ever look back at a player’s career and cite how his Laver Cup results positively or negatively shaped his quantitative tennis journey. This event’s competitive aspect is brief and fleeting.
