Roger Federer utilised sound advice from his longest rival on Tour to prevail over a more recent rival on Saturday at Laver Cup. With Rafael Nadal providing sound strategy from the bench, the Swiss rallied to defeat Nick Kyrgios 6-7(5), 7-5, 10-7 and gave Team Europe a 5-3 lead over Team World.

All of Saturday’s matches are worth two points, compared to Friday’s matches that were worth one point. Federer is 3-0 against Kyrgios in Laver Cup play and now leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 6-1.

“I was hoping it was going to be like this. It was amazing,” Federer said. “It was tough to lose that first set. I needed to get some energy, so I was just trying to stay with Nick because if you can turn it around, you can get the crowd behind you. I need some earplugs for the next match!”

Both men traded early service breaks in the first set and eventually forced a tie-break. Federer sprinted to a 4/0 lead, but began to tight and leak unforced errors. Kyrgios responded by going on a four-point run and won the last three points of the tie-break to take a commanding lead.

Although the Swiss continued to hold serve comfortably, he was unable to make inroads in most of the baseline rallies. His teammates had been silent throughout the match, but Nadal took the reigns and offered statistics with Federer serving to stay in the match at 4-5 in the second set.

”After five shots [in the rally], you are winning more [points],” Nadal said. “I know it’s tough because he reads the ball so well… Wait for the right one and then attack because he’s not missing.”

The plan worked to perfection as Kyrgios coughed off a pair of unforced errors to hand Federer a break at 5-5. At the next changeover, Nadal urged Kyrgios to add more spin to his serve and hit higher balls to disrupt the Aussie’s rhythm. The strategy produced a comfortable service hold to force a Match Tie-break. 

Federer saved his best tennis for when it mattered most. A leaping backhand volley winner gave him a 3/2 mini-break advantage as Kyrgios began to tighten up on his backhand, leading him to take short swings at the ball that allowed the Swiss to pounce. Federer took a 9/4 lead in the Match Tie-break and a forehand sent wide from Kyrgios three points later wrapped up play after one hour and 51 minutes.

John Isner started the day session with a strong finish against Alexander Zverev to prevail 6-7(2), 6-4, 10-1, which tied the score 3-3 between Team World and Team Europe.

Isner scored the lone break of the match 4-4 in the second set, then won the first seven points in the Match Tie-break to prevail in one hour and 34 minutes. The American handed Zverev his first singles loss in Laver Cup (4-1), while Isner moved to 2-3 in singles at this event. Isner improved to 2-6 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Zverev and gained revenge for last year’s Laver Cup defeat to the German.

“I wasn’t making any inroads on his serve and he was the better for 85 per cent of the match. Once I got up 5-4, I had a lot of momentum and that showed in the Match Tie-break,” Isner said. “Maybe we’re turning the tables. Team World is in this and we’re here to win it.”

For the third straight year, Aljaz Bedene will contest an ATP Tour championship match after beating Benoit Paire 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 at the Moselle Open on Saturday.

The 30-year-old stormed from a set down to overcome Paire, converting four of six break points throughout the one-hour, 31-minute clash. Bedene has defeated three French players in four matches en route to the final and will need to overcome a fourth home favourite if he is to capture his maiden ATP Tour crown.

The World No. 76 will meet three-time winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the championship match, following the Frenchman’s 7-6(6), 7-6(4) victory against Lucas Pouille. Bedene lost his only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter against Tsonga at Roland Garros in 2013.

Entering the semi-finals, Aljaz Bedene had claimed each of the six sets and 31 service games he had contested. But those two streaks were quickly ended by Paire, who won each of his 14 first-serve points and attacked well with his forehand to earn the opener after 35 minutes.

In the second set, Paire’s serve and forehand suddenly began to misfire. Multiple double faults and forehand errors assisted Bedene, who played with consistency from the baseline to charge into a 5-0 lead. The Rio de Janeiro semi-finalist forced a decider after exactly one hour, converting his first set point with a powerful serve to Paire’s forehand.

“Benoit is a tricky player. He was really serving well in the first set,” said Bedene. “He served a few double faults at the beginning of the second and then I started to play, serve and feel better and I felt more like previous matches. Overall, I feel very good.”

Bedene rode the momentum into the third set, breaking immediately to establish a lead. The four-time tour-level finalist extended rallies, playing with depth to force Paire into crucial errors before claiming victory with a cross-court forehand passing shot.

Paire was aiming to extend his three-match unbeaten record in ATP Tour semi-finals this year. The World No. 23 has compiled a 32-23 tour-level record in 2019, highlighted by title runs in Marrakech and Lyon.

Borna Coric hung tough to make his first final in nearly 12 months on Saturday at the St. Petersburg Open. The 22-year-old ran away with the semi-final against Portugal’s Joao Sousa 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1.

Coric last played for an ATP title at the 2018 Rolex Shanghai Masters (l. to Djokovic). But, for the third consecutive match in Russia, the World No. 15 rallied from a set down to advance. His last ATP Tour title came in June 2018 at the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle (d. Federer).

“I don’t know, to be honest. I don’t like [losing the first set], either. I would love to be in two sets. Maybe one day, hopefully it’s going to come one day,” Coric said.

Sousa was down 0/40 while serving for the opening set at 5-3, but erased all three break points and was brave when he had a set point, charging forward behind a forehand to take the opener.

Coric, however, was aggressive in the tie-break to even the match, and Sousa never recovered, dropping his serve three times in the deciding set.

“I think I played three very good matches, especially today,” Coric said. “It’s great. I’m looking forward to the final.”

Coric will next face Russian Daniil Medvedev, who beat qualifier Egor Gerasimov of Belarus 7-5, 7-5. The top-seeded Medvedev is trying to become the first Russian to win the St. Petersburg title since Mikhail Youzhny in 2004. Coric leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 4-1 and has won their past three matchups. The two also met at the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, a meeting Coric won in four sets.

#NextGenATP star Alex de Minaur carries plenty of momentum into the inaugural Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships having won his second ATP Tour title at the BB&T Atlanta Open and earned his first Top 10 win at the US Open, where he reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

But that wasn’t why the 20-year-old cracked a wide smile at Saturday’s draw ceremony. De Minaur found out he will be playing friend and countryman John Millman for the first time in their opening match at Zhuhai.

It’s an important week for 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier De Minaur, as he continues his push for a spot at the 21-and-under season finale for the second consecutive year. The Aussie is currently in third place in the ATP Race To Milan with 1,170 points. If he advances, the seventh seed could face former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the second round.

Murray will try to avenge a defeat from the Winston-Salem Open against Tennys Sandgren in his opener. In August, the American battled through a 75-minute first set to eventually claim a 7-6(8), 7-5 victory against the 45-time tour-level titlist.

Murray is seeking the first tour-level singles win of his comeback from hip surgery. The Scot won two matches at an ATP Challenger Tour event last month, and he also won the Fever-Tree Championships doubles crown alongside Feliciano Lopez in his return event in June.

Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top seed at this ATP 250 event, where four of the Top 15 players in the ATP Rankings are competing. The three-time ATP Tour titlist, who has a first-round bye, will play Frenchman Adrian Mannarino or Chinese wild card Ze Zhang in the second round. Third seed Gael Monfils and fifth seed Lucas Pouille are on his half of the draw.

Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, who is pushing for his first berth at the Nitto ATP Finals, will play American Steve Johnson or countryman Pablo Andujar in the second round. Aussie Nick Kyrgios, the sixth seed, looms in his quarter.

Fourth-seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille reached his first tour-level semi-final in eight months at the Moselle Open in Metz, rallying from a set and a break down on Friday to defeat Serbian Filip Krajinovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Krajinovic broke at 3-3 in the second set and appeared poised for victory, but Pouille responded by breaking back in the next game. The Frenchman rifled a backhand winner on set point and motioned for the Court Central crowd to get out of their seats. Pouille went on a four-game run at 1-1 in the final set before cracking a forehand passing shot to wrap up the win in exactly two hours. He remains unbeaten (3-0) in their FedEx ATPHead2Head series.

Pouille struggled after reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final at this year’s Australian Open, but has shown improved form in recent weeks. He advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in two years at the Western & Southern Open in Augustt and has won seven of his past nine matches.

Next up for Pouille is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who advanced when second-seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili retired due to a right shoulder injury with the Frenchman leading 5-7, 6-3, 4-1. Pouille and Tsonga are tied 2-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, but the Frenchman has won their past two matches.

Basilashvili saved two set points at 4-5 in the opening set, but Tsonga responded with a break at 1-0 in the second set and rode the slight advantage to level the match. After dropping four consecutive games in the decider, Basilashvili took a medical timeout before conceding defeat.

Tsonga continues to thrive on home soil. He prevailed this February in Montpellier (d. Herbert) and is a three-time champion in Metz (2011-12, 2015), with nine of his ATP Tour singles titles coming in France.

Roger Federer/Alexander Zverev doubled their pleasure on Friday at the Laver Cup in Geneva, saving six set points in a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Denis Shapovalov/Jack Sock to give Team Europe a 3-1 lead over Team World after Day 1.

“It was a great atmosphere. There’s nothing like playing at home. Sascha carried me in the second set and it was great fun out there,” Federer said. “My back has recovered (since the US Open) and I’m ready to go for more tomorrow.”

Federer improved to 6-2 in Laver Cup play and Zverev is now 5-1. Sock dropped to 6-4 and Shapovalov seeks his first win at this event (0-3).

“I had two great coaches, one on the court and one (Rafael Nadal) on the sidelines,” Zverev said. “I could just shut off my brain and do whatever they told me to do.”

Federer/Zverev delighted the crowd at Palexpo by breaking Shapovalov for a 3-1 lead in the opening set and rode that momentum to an early advantage. A strong return from Zverev led to an immediate break of Sock’s serve in the opening game of the second set.

Shapovalov/Sock struggled on break points and missed their first nine opportunities, but Shapovalov made good on their 10th chance by ripping a backhand return to break Federer and level the set at 4-4. But with Zverev serving at 4-5, the Canadian-American pair were unable to convert on six set points.

A costly double fault from Shapovalov at 5-5 handed a critical break to Federer/Zverev. The Swiss took advantage of the opportunity and served out the match after 97 minutes, marking the longest doubles match in Laver Cup history.

In the first match of the night session, #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas made his Laver Cup debut a memorable one by overcoming an equipment malfunction and a determined Taylor Fritz to prevail 6-2, 1-6, 10-7. Tsitsipas’ shoelace broke at 2/2 in the Match Tie-break, but the 21-year-old made the surprising decision to continue playing.

”I didn’t want to stop the match. That was quite tough because I was scared I was going to lose my shoe during the point,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “The momentum changed in the tie-break. I found my rhythm again and had a clear mind on the court.”

Tsitsipas raced to a 5/2 lead in the Match Tie-break, but Fritz responded with a series of aggressive forehand runs to go on a four-point run. The American hit his first double fault of the match at 7/7 and Tsitsipas, No. 7 in the ATP Rankings, fired two big serves to give Team Europe a 2-1 lead.

The day session saw Dominic Thiem save three match points to defeat Denis Shapovalov and give Team Europe their first point, but Jack Sock responded for Team World by beating Fabio Fognini for his first singles win of the season.

Read More: Sock Draws Team World Level

Daniil Medvedev showed no signs of slowing down on Friday as he made his fifth consecutive tour-level semi-final at the St. Petersburg Open. The 23-year-old Russian hit 12 aces and won 70 per cent of his second-serve return points to beat fifth-seeded countryman Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-5.

The top-seeded Medvedev improved to 2-0 against Rublev after also beating him in Cincinnati en route to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title. Medvedev won 20 of his 23 matches during the during the North American hard-court swing and made four consecutive finals in Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open.

He will try to reach a fifth consecutive title match on Saturday when he meets qualifier Egor Gerasimov of Belarus at the ATP 250. The 26-year-old upset US Open semi-finalist and Nitto ATP Finals hopeful Matteo Berrettini of Italy 7-6(5), 7-6(3) to make his first ATP Tour semi-final.

The win against No. 13 Berrettini is Gerasimov’s best by ATP Ranking, and the World No. 119, a career-high for Gerasimov, improved to 7-4 at tour-level this season.

Berrettini is currently in ninth place in the ATP Race To London. The top eight in the Race will compete at the season-ending championships, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London.

Robert Lindstedt and Jan-Lennard Struff scored their second upset of the week at the Moselle Open in Metz, advancing to the doubles final on Friday with a 6-4, 7-6(2) victory over fourth seeds Santiago Gonzalez/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

The unseeded pair only lost five points on serve in the second set (28/33) en route to prevailing in one hour and 26 minutes. Lindstedt seeks his first ATP Tour doubles title of the season, while Struff started his year with a title in Auckland alongside Ben McLachlan (d. Klaasen/Venus).

Awaiting Lindstedt/Struff in the championship match are top seeds Nicolas Mahut/Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Sander Arends/David Pel.