De Minaur’s ‘massive’ moment stuns in-form world No.2
Alex de Minaur shook off a first-set stumble to stun world No.2 Alexander Zverev, propelling team World to a 5-3 lead over team Europe on day two of the Laver Cup on Sunday AEST.
De Minaur toppled the reigning French and US Open champion 2-6, 7-6(5), 11-9.
Alex de Minaur downed the current two-time grand slam champion. Clive Brunskill
His hard-fought victory followed American standout Learner Tien’s 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 win over Flavio Cobolli, a crucial match that completely erased Europe’s 3-1 overnight advantage.
On paper, the odds were heavily stacked against De Minaur.
Not only was the 29-year-old Zverev in the form of his life after capturing two Grand Slam tennis crowns this summer, but the German also held a commanding 8-3 lead in their career head-to-head.
But de Minaur seized the opportunity, refusing to fold after a one-sided opening set where Zverev dictated play.
The match turned dramatically when Zverev, up 5-4 and serving for the victory, blinked.
Two untimely double faults gifted the Australian a crucial break, sparking a comeback that saw De Minaur snatch the second set in a tiebreak.
“Check his oil,” team World captain Andre Agassi urged De Minaur from the bench.
The tactical shift paid dividends in the 10-point match tiebreak, the Aussie sealing the epic win with a backhand down the line that Zverev could only send into the net.
Just over two hours after the first serve, De Minaur had completed the upset, keeping his flawless Laver Cup singles record intact.
“It was a tough battle; I left it all out there,” de Minaur said following his second consecutive Laver Cup triumph over Zverev.
“I thought that Sascha came out of the blocks firing…and I was struggling to find a lot of inroads. The game plan was to change it up as much as I could.
“I managed to get a little bit more returns in play…and slowly kind of crawled my way into the match. Yeah, and then took my opportunities when they presented it.”
Sitting beside his countryman at the post-match press conference, team World vice-captain Pat Rafter was asked if defeating one of Team Europe’s most formidable stalwarts felt like a massive boost.
“Bloody oath it is,” Rafter said.
“It’s massive. I mean, the way [Zverev] came out, he obviously showed that he was the No. 1 player or becoming No.1 player in the world, and he wanted to just stick it to us, and [say] ‘how dare you beat us last year. It’s just not going to happen’.
“He came out like that, and you just saw the fight of Alex.”
