LONDON (AP) — Alex de Minaur had blood trickling down his right leg after a diving volley he produced during a 2-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9 comeback victory over Alexander Zverev that gave Team World a 5-3 lead over Europe at the Laver Cup on Saturday.
It was a big start to the competition's middle day for the squad captained by Andre Agassi after Learner Tien outlasted Flavio Cobolli in a series of grueling baseline rallies to secure a 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 victory in the opening match.
“If you can notice, my blood is red as well,” De Minaur said, referring to the color of Team World's shirts. “It was a very tough match. A tough battle. I left it all out there and got fortunate in the end to get the job done and happy to give some points for Team World.”
Europe had led 3-1 after Friday's play.
“We were in the same position last year and it worked out pretty well for us,” De Minaur said. “We know we can do some damage. We know we’re the underdogs, but we also know that we can step out on this court and light it up.”
Zverev wasted match point
Zverev served for the match in the second set but double-faulted to hand De Minaur a break and the Australian stormed back into it.
Early in the match tiebreaker, De Minaur leaped for a volley and ended up sprawled on the black court inside the O2 Arena before popping back up as Zverev's reply sailed out.
A few points later, Zverev also went down in a worrisome moment but appeared uninjured after his feet slipped out from under him as he hit a backhand.
Zverev then wasted a match point when he played passively and chipped a forehand wide.
There was more caution from Zverev on De Minaur's first match point as the French Open and U.S. Open champion hit a weak overhead to let the Australian back into the point. De Minaur then produced a backhand up the line that Zverev couldn't get back.
How did De Minaur keep believing?
“Keep asking questions. Give yourself a chance. And you never know if you put the ball in the court, you might get lucky," he said. "So that’s what I did today.”
Zverev's defeat ended his nine-match winning streak after the second-ranked player had followed his U.S. Open title with two Davis Cup victories for Germany last weekend.
Tien's stamina
The day's opening match also had drama.
On Tien’s first match point, he produced a blistering forehand passing shot that Cobolli could barely get his racket on to conclude a 34-shot rally.
The 13th-ranked Tien was making his Laver Cup debut.
Alcaraz vs. Fritz
Up next in the night session at the O2 Arena, it’s Carlos Alcaraz vs. Taylor Fritz before Zverev partners with Casper Ruud against Alexander Bublik and Brandon Nakashima in doubles.
There are four matches per day in the three-day event.
Wins are worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday and three points on Sunday. The first team to reach 13 points wins.
Europe has won the Laver Cup five times while Team World took its third title in last year’s edition of the Ryder Cup-style event.
Yannick Noah is Europe's captain.
___
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
