Team World goes undefeated on Day 1 of Laver Cup, as Tiafoe and Paul defeat Rublev and Fils
Team World completed the shutout over Team Europe, as Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul edged Andrey Rublev and Arthur Fils in a Laver Breaker.
Laver Cup 2023, Team Europe – © DARRYL DYCK/AP/SIPA
Team World finished Day 1 of the 2023 Laver Cup with a perfect record, as Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe teamed up to defeat Andrey Rublev and Arthur Fils, 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 in the fourth and final match of Day 1.
Team World vs Team Europe : 4-0
“I think Tommy and I did a good job at the end, we came out and put another win on the board for us,” said Tiafoe.
Team World got wins from Ben Shelton (d. Fils), Francisco Cerundolo (d. Davidovich Fokina) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (d. Monfils) earlier in the day, and left it up to Paul and Tiafoe to finish the sweep.
“The first two singles matches were amazing, Team World came out hot,” Tommy Paul said. “We brought the energy today in the third-set breaker and obviously we’re all happy today to leave today leading 4-0.”
It was a tense battle, as Fils and Rublev hit back to force a match tiebreak, but Tiafoe and Paul pushed through to send Team World to an undefeated day one for the first time in Laver Cup history.
Rublev and Fils were down early but they showed great spirit in the second set to force the only deciding set of Day 1. After knocking on the door for much of the second set, Rublev and Fils broke Tiafoe for a 5-4 lead before Rublev served out the set to force the tiebreak.
Rublev and Fils moved ahead 3-0 in the tiebreak, but Team World rallied, winning eight of the next nine points to lead 8-4. Team Europe won two straight to close to 8-6, but the American duo closed the door by taking the final two points.
Team World still has work to do on Saturday and Sunday. At Laver Cup all of Saturday’s matches are worth two points, while all of Sunday’s matches will be worth three.
