Team World on the verge of retaining the Laver Cup for the third time in a row

BERLIN — Team World needs just two more match wins to win its third consecutive Laver Cup.

Team World won three of Team Europe’s four games on Saturday to enter the third and final day with an 8-4 points lead.

After a close match on Friday, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz defeated top-five opponents and Ben Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo crushed Europeans Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-2.

Team Europe’s only victory came from French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Shelton 6-4, 6-4 with one break in each set. Alcaraz saved all five break points he faced. Shelton dropped his first sets in his fifth career Laver Cup match.

Tiafoe, who reached the semifinals of the US Open, defeated No. 5 Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 6-4 (10-5) for the first time in six tries.

“Halfway through the second set and in the tiebreak I really felt like Roger Federer,” Tiafoe joked as she smiled at Federer, who was sitting in the stands.

No. 7 Fritz, the US Open finalist, defeated No. 2 Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-5 for his third straight victory over the German. Fritz hit 27 winners to Zverev’s 11.

The day ended with a doubles victory between Shelton and Tabilo.

The Laver Cup is formatted like the Ryder Cup in golf. The first team to score 13 points wins. There are four matches on Sunday, each worth three points.