De Minaur's comeback stuns Zverev
Alex de Minaur recovered from a first-set loss to upset world number two Alexander Zverev 2-6, 7-6(5), 11-9 on Saturday at the Laver Cup in London. Zverev, the reigning French Open and US Open champion, had dominated the opening set with powerful forehands near the sidelines. The Australian's victory marked his second consecutive Laver Cup win over the German.[S1]
Serving for the second set at 5-4, Zverev double-faulted twice, allowing De Minaur to break back and take the set in a tiebreak. Team World captain Andre Agassi advised De Minaur to check Zverev's oil, urging him to force the 29-year-old into long, tiring rallies. The strategy worked in the 10-point match tiebreak: De Minaur repeatedly used cross-court shots to frustrate Zverev when the German led 9-8, then earned match point and sealed the win with a precise backhand down the sideline that Zverev could only return into the net.[S1]
Tien wins nervous tiebreak over Cobolli
Earlier on Saturday, Learner Tien defeated French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 in another tense tiebreak. The 20-year-old American, playing in his first Laver Cup, controlled the first set from the net and raced to a 4-0 lead. Cobolli fought back with a break, and though it was not enough to save the set, the Italian carried momentum into the second, securing two consecutive breaks to win it.[S1]
In the match tiebreak, Tien targeted the baseline to frustrate Cobolli and clinched victory by winning a 34-shot rally. With two points on offer for each win on day two, the victories gave Team World a 5-3 lead, wiping out Europe's 3-1 overnight advantage. Europe will look to respond when world number three Carlos Alcaraz faces Taylor Fritz later on Saturday, followed by a doubles match pitting Zverev and Casper Ruud against Team World's Brandon Nakashima and Alexander Bublik.[S1]
