Tiafoe on the floor and the entire red team celebrating victory at London’s O2 Arena. Photo Glyn KIRK / AFP
The group Rest of the world He did what, in the previous one, seemed like a feat and was first crowned in conch cup. Those led by John McEnroe they defeated the team 13-8 Europe, arrived with the “cuckoo” of having the Big 4 among its ranks and with the background of having won the four previous editions of the tournament. At London’s massive O2 Arena, Francesca Tiafè won 1-6, 7-6 (13-11) and 10-8 in Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third match of the day he condemned the victory of those in the red jersey, among whom there was Diego Schwartzmann– and biased Roger Federer the champion will retire.
Although it was Tiafoe who delivered the final blow, Felix Auger-Aliassime It was crucial for the world team to take the lead at the start of the final day, where each win awards three points. The Canadian, 13th in the world, and the American Jack Sock they won 2-6, 6-3 and 10-8 in a tough match against the Scottish duo Andy Murray and Italian Matteo Berretti.
Minutes after celebrating that victory, Auger-Aliassime was back on the pitch to face Novak Djokovic, who had just won his two matches on Saturday (a single and a double) and hadn’t lost a match since May. And despite the Serbian fighting, the American defeated him 6-3 and 7-6 (7-3) taking the Rest of the World ahead on the overall scoreboard 10-8 and leaving them one victory away from lifting the trophy. for the first time.
It all depended on the duel between Tsitsipas and Tiafoe. If the Greek wins, the title would be defined in the last point. A triumph for the American, who left those in blue without possibility and condemned those in red to consecration.
With the encouragement and advice of Federer – who after playing the last game of his career on Friday, along with Rafael Nadalhe took on the role of the coach and from the bench he was warning his teammates-, Tsitsipas was ruthless in the first set, which he dominated at will and which was won with a clear difference.
The second chapter was much more uniform. With the title close at hand, Tiafoe seemed to have a rush of energy, propelled by his team. The American, recent finalist of the US Openhe placed it better against the Greek and, with an impeccable net game, he began to complicate it more and more.
The set was defined in a very difficult tie break. Tsitsipas had three match points that he was unable to exploit. And Tiafoe ended up winning that part 13-11 and took the definition of the match “super tiebreak match”.
Tiafoe starts better and goes ahead 8-4; but Tsitsipas reacts and closes 7-8. However, there is no time for the Greek’s reaction, because the American, seeing himself so close to glory, did not hesitate to serve in turn. Although he missed a match point at 9-7, he wasted the second, condemned the win by 10-8 and sparked the celebrations of those in red.
After the first day of competition, in which each victory gives a point and which ended with Federer’s emotional farewell, the score was 2-2.
The Europa squad took a good lead on Saturday: with three wins (each worth two units) and one defeat, they took an 8-4 lead, well placed to clinch their fifth consecutive title. It looked like Federer could retire champion.
But the Rest of the World ruined the party for the Swiss and with an impressive performance on the last day, the one that distributes the most points, he was crowned champion for the first time.
Source: Clarin
