John
McEnroe celebrated Team World's "incredible" victory in the
Laver Cup
following
Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe's triumph.
The sixth
edition of the Laver Cup ended with a solid victory for Team World for the
second consecutive year, against a Team Europe that could do little against the
outstanding performances of players like Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime,
and Taylor Fritz.
The doubles
pairing of Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe overcame Andrey Rublev and Hubert
Hurkacz in a tightly contested match, winning 7-6(4), 7-6(5). The 20-year-old
rising star reflected on his first participation in the Laver Cup:
"It's
been crazy for me, and I've enjoyed being in a team environment," Shelton
said. "I've enjoyed playing for Johnny Mac. Team World really brought the
energy this week. It's easy for me to play when I'm amped up and hyped, and the
bench has done a great job of hyping me up all week.”
“I hope
I've done a good job of hyping them up too. Playing with Frances speaks for
itself, easiest guy to play with, the most fun guy to be on court with,"
Shelton added.
Team
captain
John McEnroe celebrated his squad's tremendous victory, which ended
13-2 in their favor, securing the title three matches earlier than anticipated:
"It
felt unbelievable to kick their a***, baby!" McEnroe said. "They
kicked ours many times. It was a battle to the end when we won last year, and
we came in with great team spirit, a good combination of youth and experience.
I felt it from the word go, and we stepped up. I thought all the guys played
great."
Bjorn Borg,
the captain of Team Europe, lamented his team's defeat in Vancouver but
commented that it would be different next year when they play at home in
Berlin:
"I
have to tell Team Europe this: don't think you're going to beat us this badly
every year!
"Because
we will be back in Europe next year, and it's going to be a different story. I
hope, anyway."