Team World closes in on Laver Cup title defense, and three cheers for Maria Sakkari

In a week that's seen both staggered star times and stars on court around the globe, Joel Drucker offers a look ahead at what's set to take place on Sunday in Vancouver, as Team World closes in on its second straight Laver Cup; and a reflection on Maria Sakkari's run to her first WTA 1000 title in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Laver Cup: Team World close to successful title defense

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, Team World began the last day of Laver Cup down 8-4–two defeats away from a fifth straight runner-up showing. But how it works in Laver Cup is that victories are weighted. Match wins generate one point on day one, two on day two, three on day three.

So it came to pass that on the final Sunday of the 2022 Laver Cup, Team World ran the table, winning three straight matches to take the title for the first time.

This year, as Sunday’s tennis begins, Team World leads 10-2. With the magic number for clinching the title at 13 points, Team World need win only one of four scheduled matches to raise the trophy once again.

One reason for such a lopsided score is that Team Europe has a weaker lineup than usual. Past Team Europe squads have included Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev. This year, the only two Top 10 players on Team Europe are Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud. The latter earned Team Europe’s only two points with a victory over Tommy Paul on Saturday.

Sunday’s tennis kicks off at noon PDT with doubles. Given the makeup of these one-time pairings of great singles players, Laver Cup doubles matches are always intriguing. Team Europe features the powerful Rublev and skilled volleyer Hubert Hurkacz. Team World’s duo is an inspired duo of shot-makers, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.

It’s easy to imagine Shelton and Tiafoe jumping off to an early lead and swiftly ending the competition.

Should that not happen, it will be time for singles: Ruud vs. Taylor Fritz (1-0 for Ruud), Rublev vs. Tiafoe (2-1 Tiafoe), Hurkacz vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (2-1 Auger-Aliassime). In a highly rare scheduling twist for tennis players at any skill level, Rublev and Tiafoe could well play singles following doubles.

One other highlight of this year’s Laver Cup has been the presence of Federer. Unquestionably tennis’ quintessential Big Man on Campus, Federer in Vancouver has suavely greeted fellow players, hit a few balls with customary elegance, sat alongside NBA legends Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, and spoken with trademark thoughtfulness about his retirement during last year’s event.

Reflecting on that tearful occasion, Federer said, “I was always dreading the moment for years ... I was just worried my end was somehow going to be not nice and it was the opposite, it was great. I felt really good about it and very happy ... something I was very lucky to experience.”

WTA Guadalajara: Sakkari wins second career singles title

Seeded second in this non-mandatory WTA 1000 event, world No. 9 Maria Sakkari had a prime opportunity to turn around a frustrating year, punctuated vividly by first-round losses at the US Open, Wimbledon, and Roland Garros. Another troubling tidbit was that, prior to Guadalajara, Sakkari’s record in WTA singles finals was 1-7.

Sakkari won Guadalajara without the loss of a set. A particularly impressive moment came in the semis against Caroline Garcia. Interestingly, these two had never played one another. Sakkari was in complete control, winning 6-3, 6-0. In the finals, Sakkari worked hard to get past 111th-ranked (and soon to be, No. 47) Caroline Dolehide, 7-5, 6-3.

"I only had one goal this week: just to be happy,” Sakkari said. “If you watched a couple of my matches, you saw me smiling more than usual on the court. That was my goal. I was just very happy that I could do it because that was the key for me to get myself back and feel good on the court and feel happy and appreciate what I do.”