LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Team Europe's Carlos Alcaraz saved two match points before beating Taylor Fritz in the Laver Cup after Team World's Alex de Minaur rallied from a first-set stumble to stun world No. 2 Alexander Zverev as the Europeans ended Saturday 7-5 ahead.
Learner Tien prevailed over Flavio Cobolli in a nervous tiebreak as Team World established a 5-3 advantage but after Alcaraz won, Zverev and Casper Ruud defeated Alexander Bublik and Brandon Nakashima to give Team Europe the overnight
lead.
World No. 3 Alcaraz fought off Fritz to win 6-3 4-6 13-11 and claim his first win over a top-10 rival since the Australian Open final as he competes in only his second tournament after the US Open following a four-month injury layoff.
Alcaraz faced match points at 10-9 and 11-10 in the match tiebreak but the 23-year-old Spaniard saved the first with an ace and the second with a drop shot. Alcaraz finally won the contest on his third match point with another drop shot.
Alcaraz had lost to American Fritz in last year's Laver Cup as Team World stormed to victory in San Francisco so Saturday's victory was a measure of revenge.
“I was thinking a little bit about last year,” said Alcaraz. “I was trying not to let it happen again. I was kind of nervous in the beginning, I’m not going to lie, but I’m really happy I took it in the end.”
DE MINAUR PREVAILS AGAINST ZVEREV
Earlier on Saturday, French and US Open champion Zverev lost to de Minaur 2-6 7-6(5) 11-9, after American Tien beat Cobolli 6-3 2-6 10-7, allowing Team World to wipe out Europe's 3-1 overnight lead before Team Europe battled back.
With two points on offer for each match win on the second day in a race to 13 points for the championship, De Minaur made the most of the opportunity despite a first-set loss in which Zverev dominated with strong forehands near the sidelines.
Zverev was 5-4 up and serving for the second set when he committed two double faults that allowed the Australian to bounce back with a break and win the set on a tiebreak.
"Check his oil," World captain Andre Agassi told De Minaur, asking him to force Zverev, 29, into tiring, long rallies.
The advice paid off in the 10-point match tiebreak, with De Minaur using repeated cross-court shots to thwart Zverev when the German was 9-8 up, before getting match point and securing victory with a precise backhand down the sideline.
"It was a tough battle, I left it all out there," said De Minaur after his second straight Laver Cup win over Zverev.
Before that, Agassi's American compatriot Tien beat French Open finalist Cobolli in another nervous tiebreak.
Tien controlled the contest from the net as he eased to a 4-0 first-set lead. Cobolli fought back with a break and, though it did not save the set, the Italian carried momentum into the second, getting two breaks in a row on his way to winning it.
But the 20-year-old Tien, playing in his first Laver Cup, targeted the baseline to frustrate Cobolli in the match tiebreak and won a 34-shot rally to clinch victory.
"I think in this format, no matter what the score is ... the match can turn on a dime," Tien said.
Wins are worth three points when the event finishes on Sunday, with the first team to reach 13 claiming the trophy. Europe have won the Laver Cup five times while Team World claimed their third title last year.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Purulia, India and Ken Ferris in London; Editing by Clare Fallon and Andrea Ricci)
