September 26, (THEWILL) – Roger Federer was prevented from having a fairytale career ending, as Frances Tiafoe defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-6 7-6(11) 10-8 to secure Team World’s maiden Laver Cup victory.
Tiafoe followed up a remarkable performance from Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Andy Murray and Matteo Bertini alongside Jack Sock before defeating Novak Djokovic to turn a 4-8 deficit into a 10-8 lead.
Team World just needed Tiafoe to defeat Tsitsipas in order to win the Laver Cup for the first time, since a victory would earn them three points.
Tsitsipas dominated the opening set, winning it in just 21 minutes, but the second set was much closer. Tiafoe won it on a tie-break,13-11, with some outstanding tennis to advance to a tie breaker, which is a race to 10 points in the Lavar Cup.
With amazing court coverage and cunning, Tiafoe won the Laver breaker 10-8. Given that Federer had declared his retirement from professional tennis prior to the match, the outcome means that the Swiss player’s final appearance at a competitive event ended in a loss.
