The Laver Cup returned to the O2 arena for the first time since Roger Federer’s retirement four years ago, and it was Team Europe who took won three of the day’s four matches. But with tomorrow’s games worth double points in this exciting format, the tie is still well and truly alive with all to play for.
In the first match of the day, Team Europe made the perfect start as Casper Ruud battled past 33 unforced errors to beat Fransisco Cerundolo in a tight encounter which went the distance. After splitting the first two sets 6-7, 6-4, the match was settled 10-8 in the tie-break after Cerundolo missed a critical passing shot at eight points all.
It was a very even contest throughout with both player’s serving statistics remarkably similar, but in a match containing plenty of long rallies and with both player’s exhibiting skillful displays of touch at the net, it was the more experienced Ruud who came through with the important victory for his team – avenging a defeat to the same opponent at the same event two years ago.
When asked later in his post-match interview about whether he still feels nervous while playing, he answered: “Yeah, definitely. We’re in the o2 here in London, the stadium is big and is amazing. This summer has been a bit of a struggle for me. I haven’t played that many matches, so I’m still getting into the match rhythm. It’s a little bit of nervous feeling, but it settled and was hard for the first set but luckily, I crawled my way back into the match. I served well, and out of some trouble, and the match was decided by one or two points, that’s tennis for you.”
He also thanked his team mates for their support and also the crowd: “Thank you to my bench and my team, and hopefully we can build on this. Hopefully there are more Europeans in the crowd over the coming days and all weekend long, we need it.”
Team Europe’s Vice-captain Tim Henman watching courtside added: “it was very tough, because there were so few opportunities. Casper talking about struggling a little bit on second-serve return, I also think Cerundolo’s quality of serving made life difficult from the back of the court, hitting so hard, so aggressively, and that’s a reflection why there were no breakpoints in the first set.”
“There were a couple of breakpoints in the second set, and Casper was able to get that,” he continued: “But it felt like he was pushing water uphill, because Cerundolo was impressive, and once he got into the champions tiebreak, 10-point tiebreak, anything can happen. I think it emphasizes not always about how you start, it’s how you finish. I think the way Casper finished it off in the tiebreak was very impressive.”
The second match of the day featured Jakub Mensik for Team Europe against Brandon Nakashima from Team World, who was fastest out of the blocks securing the first set quickly 6-1 in just over 20 minutes. However, Mensik adjusted well playing aggressively and fought back to win the second 6-3 to force a decider.
A backhand volley error gave Mensik a 6-4 lead but he relinquished it immediately after a volley exchange in the next point. The tie-break edged to six points all and they swapped sides again but as the match creeped to its conclusion, it was Mensik who tightened up first with a series of errors giving Nakashima the crucial win to level the scores at 1-1 after the opening session of play. He raised his arms to celebrate his first win in the event which particularly pleased Team World Captain Andre Agassi and his decision to pick the American for this tie.
Post-match, Nakashima said: “There was some nerves in that third-set breaker, but tried to focus on what I needed to do out there and what I do best, and just try to fight for every point. I was really happy about that and really grateful for Andre and Pat and all the guys on the team for their support, especially in the beginning of the third set breaker.”
Vice-captain Patrick Rafter watching courtside commended his player for turning the match around after the second set: “Brandon started absolutely perfectly, and Jakub was a little bit tight to start off with. He took full advantage of it. You could just see the turn, and when Jakub just started releasing, it started looking really ominous,” he said. “The way Brandon just turned it around at the end of that second set, you could see he put a couple of good games together. when all the momentum was with Jakub. He was starting to strike the ball very hard, was hitting it well. Then just seeing his last service game before the tiebreaker and then the way he served and timed the ball through the tiebreaker, I was very proud and happy for him.”
Spanish youngster Rafa Jodar underlined his status as one to watch as he convincingly beat Alexander Bublik 6-2, 6-3 in the third match of the day with a clinical performance showcasing his physical and mental attributes.
Bublik – known for his showmanship on court along with his infamous underarm serves – played within himself and could never really get going despite constant encouragement from his team while 20-uear-old Jodar won eight of the last nine points to give Team Europe the lead.
“I want to thank Roger, who was in the stands watching me,” he said. “It’s a pleasure that he is in the stands, and also Rod Laver, whom the tournament is named after. It’s a pleasure to see him watching these types of matches, so thank you guys for being here.”
In the final match of the day, the pairing of Carlos Alcaraz and Jakub Mensik beat Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 to give Team Europe the 3-1 lead at the end of the day.
