Europe takes 2-0 lead at UC
Britain’s Kyle Edmund regained command in a tiebreaker and beat American Jack Sock on Friday as Team Europe took a 2-0 lead in the opener of the Laver Cup at the United Center.
Edmund’s 6-4, 5-7, 10-6 victory followed Grigor Dimitrov’s 6-1, 6-4 win over Frances Tiafoe of Team World.
Edmund broke Sock’s service to capture the first set 6-4. Sock, who came out to warm up wearing a Bulls jersey over his shirt, fought back and broke Edmund to go up 6-5 in the second set before serving it out as the crowd came alive.
Edmund then raced to a 7-2 lead in the 10-point tiebreaker that is used in the Laver Cup when the first two sets are split.
Sock was to play doubles later Friday with Kevin Anderson against the Team Europe star pairing of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Dimitrov had 13 winners and two service breaks to win the first set 6-1, finishing it off with one of his five opening-set aces.
Tiafoe was a late replacement for Juan Martin del Potro on Team World. The 20-year-old American played for in the Davis Cup semifinals last weekend in Croatia, losing the deciding match in five sets to Borna Coric.
He played much tougher in the second set Friday against Dimitrov, getting a service break for a 4-4 tie before Dimitrov broke back and served out the victory in a match that featured extended baseline rallies.