VANCOUVER – Team World won a second straight Laver Cup title on Sunday, as Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe sealed a 13-2 victory over Team Europe with a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) doubles win over Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev.
Team World captain John McEnroe, who had endured four straight defeats in the event that began in 2017, before seeing his side rally for victory in London in 2022, was thrilled to celebrate a dominant triumph that began with a four-match sweep on Friday.
“It felt unbelievable to kick their ass, baby! They kicked ours many times, OK. It was a battle to the end when we won last year,” the 64-year-old crowed.
This time around, with a blend of youth and experience, McEnroe said he “felt it from the word go” against a Team Europe side who were without fourth-ranked Holger Rune of Denmark and world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece after both withdrew from captain Bjorn Borg’s side with injuries.
That left sixth-ranked Rublev and Norway’s ninth-ranked Casper Ruud as Europe’s top players.
Ruud nabbed the visitors’ only points of the three-day event with his victory over American Tommy Paul on Saturday.
Europe were unable to build on that win, with Tiafoe downing Hurkacz in singles on Saturday night before Felix Auger-Aliassime and Shelton teamed up to beat Hurkacz and Gael Monfils in doubles and put Team World one win away from victory heading into the final day.
“We stepped up, and I thought all the guys played great,” said McEnroe, who also had singles wins from Americans Shelton and Taylor Fritz, Canada’s Auger-Aliassime and Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo.
Every World Team player contributed at least a point, with Paul gaining a win alongside Tiafoe in doubles on Friday.
“This was like a special year for us. I know they’re going to come back strong, but I’ll take two in a row any day. And I’m starting to think is it possible three in a row, Team World?,” McEnroe said.
The 23-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who had two key wins on the final day as Team World rallied for victory a year earlier, was delighted to lift the trophy in front of his home fans in Canada.
“Amazing to win on home soil with the crowd behind us,” he said.
Shelton, the 20-year-old whose stunning run to the US Open semi-finals saw him rise to 19th in the world, relished the team tournament environment and the chance to soak up some wisdom from McEnroe.
“Team World really brought the energy this week. It’s easy for me to play when I’m amped up and hyped and the bench has done a great job of hyping me up all week,” he said. AFP
