Matteo Berrettini fired Team Europe back in front against Team World on Saturday at the Laver Cup. The Italian edged Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(11), 4-6, 10-7 to move his side into a 4-2 lead in London.
In a hard-fought battle, the Italian caused damage with his aggressive forehand, while he hit his backhand slice with great depth to keep the Canadian at bay. The World No. 15 saved one break point in the first set, before raising his level on serve in the Match Tie-break to seal his victory after two hours and 15 minutes.
“It is always a great fight against Felix,” Berrettini said in his on-court interview. “We played for two and 15 minutes and he is a hell of a player. I had to play my best tennis in the [Match] Tie-break to win. I am really happy because I didn’t win just for me but for the team.”
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Berrettini now leads Auger-Aliassime 4-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, having defeated the 22-year-old at the Laver Cup last year. Cameron Norrie will look to extend Team Europe’s lead when he faces American Taylor Fritz in the second match of the afternoon session.
Captain Bjorn Borg is aiming to guide Team Europe to its fifth consecutive Laver Cup title against John McEnroe's Team World this week in the UK capital. The sides ended the first day level, after Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe clawed past Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the Swiss star’s final tour-level match on Friday night. Each victory on Saturday is worth two points.