US Open champion Daniil Medvedev defeated Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-0 in the 2021 Laver Cup on Saturday, as Team Europe continued its march towards a fourth consecutive title.
Medvedev’s victory over Team World’s Shapovalov earned two points and gave the Europeans an 11-1 lead in Sunday’s final at the Boston Garden. Team Europe needs just two more points to be declared winners.
“I played incredible tennis, especially in the second set,” Medvedev said.
“I didn’t know what to do because after the US Open, I didn’t play for a week and a half.
“I came here, practiced as much as I could in the last three days. I didn’t hit many deliveries, but surprisingly, I was feeling better.”
“At first it wasn’t easy. The ball wasn’t going as fast as I wanted it to. He was playing really well. Then I couldn’t miss a ball anymore.”
Unless a miracle happens, Team Europe is on course to claim a fourth consecutive title after previous victories in 2019 (Geneva), 2018 (Chicago) and 2017 (Prague).
“We haven’t won yet, but it’s looking good,” said Team Europe captain and 11-time Grand Slam winner Bjorn Borg.
The Laver Cup pits six top European players against their six counterparts from the rest of the world.
This event is played over three days. With four matches played each day – three singles and one doubles – the first team to reach 13 points is declared the winner. Each win on Sunday will carry three points.
Earlier this month Medvedev secured his first major title at the US Open with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic, who led the Serb to become the first calendar year Grand Slam winner since 1969 Hopes dashed.
Russia’s Medvedev broke 12th-ranked Shapovalov to start the second set and then went on to win nine straight runs in a one-sided victory to extend his points lead to eight.
In other singles matches on Saturday, Germany’s Alexander Zverev took two points from American John Isner and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas held off Australia’s Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets.
read all breaking news, breaking news And coronavirus news Here
.