Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, playing for the first time on the same side of a tennis court, gave Team Europe a 9-3 lead over Team World on the second day of the Laver Cup.
The two, arguably the top two men in tennis history, have, over the years produced some of the most sublime shots from the opposite ends of the court. So, this match, which they won 6-4, 1-6, 10-5 (super tie-breaker) against Sam Querrey and Jack Sock, was purely for posterity's sake; for the fans to watch and rewatch the Spaniard's loopy, top-spin-laden forehands, the Swiss' delectable drops coming from the same side of the court. The two collosi high-fived, joked, and giggled as they took apart Sock and Querrey. The intensity, pressure, drama and test of everyday tennis, where ATP points or country's pride are at stake, were missing. But then, this was fun, or rather, fantasy.
Fedal, as Federer and Nadal are collectively known, got the break at 4-3 and held serve to take the first set 6-4. Querrey and Sock wrong-footed the legends and won a few net exchanges, to take an early break in the second set at 3-1. The American duo then rode on that momentum to take quickly finish the set 6-1.
Federer and Nadal, who have between them 624 tiebreak wins in their singles career, then eased into a 10-5 victory in the super-tiebreak.
Earlier, Federer and Nadal won in contrasting fashions their singles ties against Querrey and Sock, respectively, to extend Team Europe's lead. Federer needed just 69 minutes for a 6-4, 6-2 win, while his teammate from Spain had to win a thrilling super-tiebreak 11-9 after being 6-3, 3-6 after two sets.
Nick Kyrgios' 4-6, 7-6, 10-6 win over Tomas Berdych was Team World's only success on the day.
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