Tiafoe, Fritz and Shelton impress at the Laver Cup

“When I’m having fun, I’m dangerous,” said Frances Tiafoe on Saturday after his victory in the Laver Cup for Team World against Europe’s Daniil Medvedev. And Tiafoe really did have a lot of fun, and the same was true for the spectators in Berlin’s Uber Arena, who the American kept making laugh and marvel.

At 26, Tiafoe is already something of a veteran in John McEnroe’s team. This is his fifth time taking part in the Laver Cup. In 2017, at the first event, he played the opening match. At the time, he was number 72 in the world rankings, and seven years later he is still impetuous, sometimes even wild, on the tennis court. In any case, Tiafoe is an outstanding entertainer and therefore perfect for a competition like the Laver Cup.

The fact that it was Roger Federer who spoiled his departure from the tennis stage in 2022, at least a little bit, when he and partner Jack Sock won the doubles after fending off match point against Federer and Rafael Nadal, is part of the history of the Laver Cup. On Saturday, the legendary Swiss paid him respects with two thumbs up after the match. You can’t stay mad at someone like Frances Tiafoe for long anyway.

Against Medvedev, he kept making stops and grinning afterwards – regardless of who had scored the point before. At one point he even ran to the other side of the net and had a mock verbal duel with Medvedev. All in good fun, of course, but you can also get on the opponent’s nerves with that. And Tiafoe doesn’t just do that in Berlin when he’s on the court himself. No other player shows as much energy when cheering on his teammates. Tiafoe dances in front of his own bench when he scores spectacular points or high-fives everyone and everything.

This is well received by the spectators. And now Tiafoe is no longer the only American who is part of the extended world elite. Taylor Fritz is even one step further; two weeks ago at the US Open he became the first male tennis professional from his country to make it to a Grand Slam final in 15 years. In the evening, he had a quarter-final rematch against Alexander Zverev in the Berlin Arena; Fritz had prevailed against the German in New York and had also previously defeated him at Wimbledon.

Already on Friday evening, Fritz and Ben Shelton had won the doubles match at the Laver Cup against Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz. However, he did not want to overestimate his recent successes in the direct duel against Germany’s best tennis player. “We always go back and forth,” the 26-year-old Californian said before the team competition in Berlin, without missing a beat.

Ben Shelton is perhaps the greatest US tennis talent

The outstanding player in this doubles match, however, was Ben Shelton. The son of former professional Bryan Shelton thrilled the audience with hard serves of over 220 km/h and a remarkable presence at the net. It’s no wonder that John McEnroe thinks highly of him – and not just because Shelton, like his captain on Team Welt, is left-handed.

Nick Kyrgios’ podcast “Good Trouble” recently discussed who could form the new “Big 3” in men’s tennis in the future, along with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. McEnroe named Ben Shelton. “At the age of ten, he wasn’t just focused on tennis, he also played American football.” “He’s an incredible athlete,” praised McEnroe. However, Shelton still needs a few years to reach his best level.

The man from Atlanta is only 21 years old and had not played a tennis match outside the USA until 2022. His development is rapid and the great potential he brings with him has now become clear again in Berlin.

Shelton is 1.93 meters tall, has a powerful forehand and the ability to keep moving up to the net. He is an extremely unpleasant opponent, especially in doubles. McEnroe – who had previously been described by Andrea Petkovic in an on-court interview on Friday as the “best doubles player in history” – was full of praise after his victory against Zverev and Alcaraz. “That was incredible and great to watch,” he praised. Although doubles are played very differently today than in his time.

On Saturday, Shelton had to play against Carlos Alcaraz in singles. The Spaniard showed him his limits with a 6:4 and 6:4 win and it became clear how far ahead the Wimbledon winner is of his US opponent. Nevertheless, the future looks much brighter for the Americans. Thanks to Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, who was injured in Berlin and was absent – and Ben Shelton.