LONDON — The last to arrive, befitting his reputation in the locker room, Frances Tiafoe strutted into the news conference after clinching Team World’s Laver Cup victory over Roger Federer’s star-studded Team Europe and shouted.
“Champs are here!”
Then the 24-year-old from Maryland joined his teammates at the table where the silver trophy was resting Sunday night, put down a bottle of water, pulled a Budweiser out of his red jacket and smiled that wide smile of his.
Performing with the same infectious showmanship and crunch-time success he displayed en route to his first Grand Slam semifinal at the U.S. Open earlier this month, Tiafoe staved off four match points and came back to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-6, 7-6 (11), 10-8, giving Team World its first triumph in five editions of an event founded by Federer’s management company.