Team Europe wins first-ever Laver Cup

Team Europe has won the first-ever Laver Cup, held in the Czech capital, although Team World came close to forcing an extra deciding game. In a tense match Roger Federer defeated Nick Kyrgios in a super tiebreak 11-9. Team Europe won with an overall 15 points to 9. Thirteen points were needed under the tournament rules.

Earlier, Team World, trailing after the first two days of the Laver Cup in Prague, rebounded on Sunday with a win in the doubles over Tomáš Berdych and Marin Cilic and a win against World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Zverev downed Team World's Querrey.

That put the score at 12:9 in favor of Team Europe, with the tournament founder Roger Federer facing Nick Kyrgios.

A win by Team World would have left the teams tied at 12 points apiece and would have forced a final fifth match to determine who would clinch overall victory.

The Laver Cup, in its first year, featured excellent tennis and very close matches, surpassing even the participants' expectations. Despite suffering three losses by razor-thin margins, Czech player Tomáš Berdych said he had been glad to be part of the team and happy that the competition had taken place in Prague in its inaugural year.

Author: Jan Velinger