TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 16 Team retains Laver Cup and scored vital singles wins as roared back to beat Team World at Laver Cup

crowd to play a superb tiebreak- Alexander Zverev er. • “Team World came once again edged very close but we won the right to secure trophy points and had maybe a little bit of luck,” Swede Borg said. Reuters | Geneva, “I’m very proud of my team, they did a hell of a job. I’m a very happy captain.” lexander Zverev snatched American McEnroe looked the Laver Cup for Team crestfallen in defeat but congrat- AEurope as he beat Can- ulated his old adversary Borg. ada’s Milos Raonic in the final “I’m getting very sick and tired rubber of a thrilling three days of you,” the American great told of action in Geneva’s Palexpo Team Europe after suffering his Arena on Sunday. third successive defeat by Borg’s With Roger Federer and Ra- men. “I’m so proud to be the fael Nadal, winners of 39 Grand captain of this team, they fought Slam titles between them, part their hearts out. World, you guys of the supporting bench, Zverev are awesome.” showed immense composure to Federer, who won his two sin- close out a 6-4 3-6 10-4 victory gles matches over the weekend and hand Bjorn Borg’s team a including a classic against Kyr- 13-11 overall win. gios, said it had been a dream to With Nadal forced out with a win the title on home soil. hand injury at the start of the day “For us, so many emotions. and Federer suffering a doubles It’s been an unbelievable roller- defeat, it looked as though John coaster,” he said, “Bjorn, you’re McEnroe’s Team World would a great captain, and Rocket (Rod claim the title for the first time Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer of Team Europe lift the Laver Cup trophy Laver), thanks for being here since the event began in 2017. today. But after Federer defeated with Federer, Nadal, Domi - roe’s team made a great start Isner, Team World would win “It makes it more special. It’s to close the gap, Ger- nic Thiem, with and Isner beat- the title. Wise words been a dream weekend for me to many’s Zverev produced a flurry and celebrating ing Federer and Tsitsipas on the But with the Swiss crowd After Raonic battled back to be playing in Switzerland. Thank of superb to beat the a third successive victory for charcoal-colored court. roaring his every winner, Feder- level the match and set up a you for all the noise you’ve made, big-serving Raonic in the final Europe. It had been very tight American , in for er preserved his 100% singles match tiebreak decider, Zverev I’ve loved every moment,” he rubber of the weekend. though with the World Team the injured , then record in the event by claim - left the court with Federer and added before joining his team After crunching a leading 11-7 in the middle of the extended his team’s lead by beat- ing a 6-4 7-6(3) win before set- Nadal in hot pursuit. to be presented with the trophy winner, most of the 17,000 sell- afternoon. ing 7-5 6-7(3) tling down at courtside to offer Their words of wisdom paid by Australian great Laver as blue out crowd erupted and Zverev With three points for each 10-5. high-caliber vocal support to handsome dividends as Zverev ticker-tape rained down on the was buried under his team mates rubber won on Sunday, McEn- It meant that if Federer lost to Zverev. fed off the energy from the court.

Hamilton rues poor team Two wins will end our crisis says Barcelona boss call after finishing fourth AFP | Barcelona you can plunge into a crisis in three days, and we have the AFP | Singapore arcelona coach Ernesto chance to get out of it in three BValverde has demanded days.” orld champion Lewis his side bounce back from the “This is football. We have two WHamilton felt Mercedes weekend’s embarrassing away matches and I want six points, had the car to win the Singa- defeat when they host Villarreal it’s the only way to calm the pore Grand Prix on Sunday but in La Liga on Tuesday. situation.” strategic errors in the middle The Spanish champions are in Valverde said his French of the race cost him a chance an unlikely eighth position after winger Ousmane Dembele of victory as the champion- five Liga games after the shock would be returning from in - ship leader had to settle for a 2-0 defeat at promoted Granada jury Tuesday, naming him in fourth-place finish. left the all-star outfit on seven his squad after a month on the Hamilton started alongside points, their worst league start sidelines. pole-sitter Charles Leclerc on in 25 years. Five time Ballon d’Or winner the front row with the second Lewis Hamilton ahead of the drivers’ “In my job the only thing that Lionel Messi, Urugauyan cen- Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel and parade counts is results and the coach tre-forward Luis Suarez and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen be- is always in the firing line,” said Barcelona players react to Granada’s Nigerian midfielder Ramon Azeez’s goal French World Cup winner An- hind him. Valverde, who led the club to the after only two minutes into the game toine Griezmann are all also After fighting off Vettel to Liga title in 2018 and 2019. available. slot in behind Leclerc on the “In the past two seasons we the 55-year-old. real at the Camp Nou Tuesday “Dembele can shake things opening lap, Mercedes opt- were already ahead at this stage, Barcelona have yet to win and at 10th placed Getafe at the up,” said Valverde. “We know ed to keep Hamilton out for KNOW WHAT but we have started poorly and away from home this season weekend. what he can do, its now up to longer than his rivals rather we need to put that right,” said and play seventh placed Villar- “The media being what it is him to prove it on the pitch.” than attempt an undercut to claim the lead, but the plan backfired when he emerged After fighting off from his pit stop behind the Vettel to slot in behind Ferraris and the Red Bull. Leclerc on the opening Leclerc slams ‘frustrating’ Ferrari Singapore pit strategy “It’s not been the weekend lap, Mercedes opted to we wanted at all. I was all over keep Hamilton out for AFP | Singapore one-two,” Leclerc told report- team radio during three safety Charles in the first stint and I longer than his rivals ers of Ferrari’s strategy to bring car periods late in the race, Le- think we had the pace to win rather than attempt harles Leclerc will be seek- Vettel into the pits first and the clerc said he would take time to the race today,” Hamilton told Cing answers from his Ferrari 21-year-old Monegasque one absorb the decisions made on reporters after the Grand Prix an undercut to claim team after their ‘frustrating’ pit lap later. the pit wall but would probably finished with a Vettel-Leclerc the lead, but the plan strategy prevented him from “So if it’s the case I complete- feel better about the result in a Ferrari one-two and Verstap- backfired when he registering a hat-trick of wins ly understand it, but obviously few days’ time. pen completing the podium. emerged from his pit but enabled the Italian outfit from the car it’s very frustrating. “Obviously I think during the “We discussed the possibili- stop behind the Fer- to secure a one-two finish at So I’m not completely happy but safety car I was quite often on ty of the undercut in the strat- raris and the Red Bull the Singapore Grand Prix on yeah, anyway the overall result the radio, but then as soon as egy meeting this morning and Sunday. of the weekend is very positive,” (it) went away I focused on the I wanted to take the risk but “We don’t the finger Fresh off consecutive tri- added the Ferrari rookie, who job and tried to do the best of my then Ferrari decided to box at people, that’s always been umphs in Belgium and Italy, has outshone Vettel in his first race,” he added. (pit), so we did the opposite our philosophy and that won’t Leclerc qualified on pole for season at the team. “In the car it’s frustrating and and I stayed out. change because of one race. Singapore but was overtaken Ferrari’s driver Charles Leclerc reacts “We hoped for at least one car then as soon as I thought a lit- after finishing in second place “I pushed hard and the tyres “We’re fighting a Ferrari by Sebastian Vettel during a on the podium for this weekend tle bit more about the situation were feeling good, but after a team who are super hungry pit stop and had to settle for a viously I was not aware in the and we go back home with a after it, then you see the things few laps they started to drop and pushing very hard,” he second-place finish as his team car, but I guess if this decision one-two, which we definitely maybe a bit differently. Even off real quick. We made mis- added of the Italian outfit, who mate recorded a first victory in has been made it was for the did not expect on a track like though I still need some expla- takes tonight, but in this team, have now won the last three 392 days. good of the team and it had to this. So this is very positive.” nations just to understand fully we win and we lose together. races. “I was surprised because ob- be the only way for us to do a Venting his frustration on the why this decision was taken.