Geneva: Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev claimed a hard-fought doubles victory over Jack Sock and Denis Shapovalov to give Europe a 3-1 lead over Team World after the opening day of the third Laver Cup in Geneva on Friday.
The 38-year-old Swiss delighted his home fans alongside Zverev, as the European pair saw off Shapovalov and Sock 6-3, 7-5 after a dramatic second set.
American Sock had earlier defeated Fabio Fognini 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) in the singles to draw John McEnroe’s visitors level after Dominic Thiem’s win against Shapovalov.
But Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas restored Europe’s advantage by downing Taylor Fritz in a super tie-break to win 6-2, 1-6, 10-7, and Federer and Zverev combined to put Europe in control.
The home duo served out a tight opening set after a single break of serve on their fifth set point, but the match came to life in the second.
