Sports
Nadal, Federer give Europe big lead in Laver Cup
Prague, Sep 24 (IANS) Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Switzerland’s Roger Federer, arguably the two greatest tennis players of all time, had done just about everything in their sport prior — except play doubles on the same side of the net.
They finally did so here on Saturday in the star-studded Laver Cup team event and defeated Americans Sam Querrey and Jack Sock 6-4, 1-6, 10-5 to give Team Europe a 9-3 lead over Team World at the end of the competition’s second day, reports Efe news agency.
Cheered on by most of the 20,000 fans in attendance at Prague’s O2 Arena, Federer and Nadal used their guile and all-court skill to overcome a second-set hiccup and edge their big-hitting rivals.
“It was unforgettable for both of us after the history we have behind us as rivals. Something we really enjoyed a lot,” Nadal, a 16-time Grand Slam champion, said about playing with his 19-time major champion arch-rival.
Federer, who has faced the Spaniard in nine Grand Slam finals (with Nadal holding a 6-3 edge), echoed the sentiments.
“For me personally it was a great moment too. After this we’ll be rivals again, thank God or unfortunately, but this was something very special.”
Team Europe came into the Laver Cup as the heavy favorite and that squad has lived up to expectations; after leading 3-1 heading into Saturday, the Europeans stretched their advantage to six points with a pair of singles wins by Federer and Nadal and the doubles triumph.
Team World got two points on Saturday thanks to Australian Nick Kyrgios’ come-from-behind 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-6 victory over Czech Tomas Berdych.
The Laver Cup features a unique format in which three singles and one doubles match will be played on each of the three days and the points received per match victory increase every day (one point per match on Friday, two points per contest on Saturday and three points per match on Sunday).
The first team to reach 13 points will win the inaugural Laver Cup, with a doubles decider to be played if the teams are tied at 12 points apiece at the end of Sunday’s matches.
–IANS
sam/mr
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.
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