Laver Cup: Canada’s Auger-Aliassime beats Djokovic


LONDON –

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime added a singles win over Novak Djokovic to an earlier win in doubles on Sunday, allowing Team World to take a 10-8 lead over Team Europe with two games left in the Laver Cup.

Auger-Aliassime, a 22-year-old from Montreal, defeated 21-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic 6-3, 7-6 (3) with the help of 13 aces and a 39-11 outright advantage.

This was followed by the final doubles competition of the three-day event, with Auger-Aliassime and American Jack Sock returning to beat Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini 2-6 6-3 10-8.

Murray, who owns three Grand Slam titles, was treated by a coach after cutting his right leg during the loss.

“In the first game (against Djokovic) it was a bit weird but after that I felt very good, very relaxed,” said Auger-Aliassime, whose best run in a major tournament was at the US Open last year when he achieved that semifinals “That (double) win made me really confident to go into the singles.”

Victories were worth three points a piece on Sunday; the first team with 13 wins.

That meant Frances Tiafoe, a 24-year-old from Maryland who reached the US Open semifinals this month, could win it for Team World by defeating 2021 French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the penultimate game.

Team Europe started the week at the O2 Arena after winning all four previous editions of the Laver Cup, established by Roger Federer’s management company.

This served as a celebration of the career of the 41-year-old Swiss star. His last match before retiring came on Friday night when he and Rafael Nadal lost to Tiafoe and Sock in doubles.

Djokovic won both singles and doubles matches on Saturday in his first action since winning the Wimbledon title in July.

He helped Team Europe go into Sunday with an 8-4 lead.