If Matches 11 or 12 of the 2021 Laver Cup are played, it will mean bedlam has hit Boston. Team Europe holds a commanding, unprecedented 11-1 lead in the quest for the cup. A win in any of today’s three-point matches secures the Laver Cup for Team Europe for a fourth time and sends Team World back to the drawing board. Despite razor thin margins, with five of the eight matches decided by match tie-breakers, Team Europe dominates the overall scoreboard.
However, momentum is a funny thing. If…if Team World somehow comes out on top in Matches 9 and 10, even the best players’ nerves could be exposed to what will then be a purely frenzied atmosphere in Boston’s TD North Garden. So, if they are played, here are predictions for matches 11 and 12.
Laver Cup Day 3 Session 5 Predictions
Match 11-Singles (3 Point Match) *if necessary
Team Europe’s Daniil Medvedev vs Team World’s Diego Schwartzman
Head to Head – Medvedev leads 6-0
Diego Schwartzman fights to the bitter end, especially in Laver Cup singles. Despite a tremendous spirit, he has come up short. In both 2018 and 2021, the Team World competitor dropped matches by the most narrow of margins, 11-9 in match tie-breakers.
Still, neither Schwartzman nor Medvedev has ever played a 3-point Laver Cup match where momentum and team spirit can make one want to throw the stats out the window.
While Laver Cup 3-point matches are different, they are not that different. If Team World has clawed within striking distance Sunday afternoon, Medvedev will be Team Europe’s wall. Medvedev not only holds a 6-0 lead over Schwartzman, he has won 12 of 13 sets in their previous matches. Schwartzman will fight and claw. Nick Kyrigos will lead the cheers and support from the Team World bench. The crowd will be estatic. But, Medvedev is just too good and generally does not get rattled by crowds. If this match is played, Medvedev will take the Laver Cup for Team Europe.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2 sets
Match 12-Singles (3 Point Match) *if necessary
Team Europe’s Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Team World’s John Isner
Head to Head – Tstsipas leads 4-2
Laver Cup Sundays are full of “ifs”.
If this match is even played, the 2021 Laver Cup Sunday will go down as epic.
If this match is played and Isner wins, this match will make the 2021 Laver Cup legendary.
The only way this match is played is if Team World has run through three tough matches earlier in the day. It will come on the heels of a tremendous upset of world #2 Daniil Medvedev by Diego Schwartzman about 20 minutes earlier. By this time, the Boston crowd will be electric, the European team will be stunned and it will be Team World’s time to shock Europe.
Tsitsipas won his last four matches against Isner. Isner has not defeated Tsitsipas on any surface but grass since 2017. No matter. John Isner loves the team atmosphere of Laver Cup, and has tremendous experience in 3-point matches. Isner has won a full 12 points for Team World on previous Day 3 matches at the Laver Cup. Tsitsipas has never won a single Day 3 point.
While Tsitsipas knows his way around a tennis court, he does not know his way around a unique match like this. Nobody does. Isner’s experience and the wild crowd will push Team World past Team Europe and they will finally win the Laver Cup.
Only if the match is played…
Prediction: Isner in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
