Laver Cup Rewind: Ben Shelton sends Daniil Medvedev spiraling with Berlin comeback

We're counting down the days to the Laver Cup in San Francisco—starting Friday, September 19—by looking back at memorable moments from competitions past. Last year, Ben Shelton pulled off a dramatic comeback that spent Daniil Medvedev spiraling in 2024.

📲 🖥️ Stream the match in full on the Tennis Channel app

One of the most unique components of Laver Cup is its scoring system, one that effectively guarantees live matches on the final of day of competition.

Ben Shelton rose to the occasion last year at the Uber Arena in Berlin, opening up an 11-7 lead for Team World when he roared back from a set down to defeat Daniil Medvedev, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 10-5 in a match tiebreaker.

Shelton had begun the day on the losing end of a doubles match, partnering Frances Tiafoe to lose, 6-2, 7-6 (6) to Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud. But redemption was on the line against Medvedev, who himself was looking for his first win of the week after losing in a match tiebreaker to Tiafoe on Day 2.

“I wanted to redeem myself after this morning,” Shelton said. “Obviously I lost my singles yesterday and I didn’t want to come out of here winless, I thought I was playing too well.

“I really used my guys on the bench today, and the captain John of course really helped me get over the line,” added the American, referring to seven-time Laver Cup captain John McEnroe.

Medvedev nearly went off the boil in the first-set tiebreaker, bouncing his racquet into the stands in a moment that nearly saw the former No. 1 defaulted. Though Medvedev calmed down in time to take the tiebreaker, it was Shelton who took momentum into the second and subsequent Sudden Death, playing aggressive tennis to hand Medvedev an 0-2 record in singles play.

Team World was ultimately unable to consolidate Shelton’s lead as Team Europe won the final two matches of the tournament: Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz overcame tough challenges from both Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz to clinch a 13-11 win over Team World.

📲 🖥️ Watch the 2025 Laver Cup beginning Friday, September 19, on the Tennis Channel app

Shelton looked to be a key player for Team World in 2025, but the American was ruled out of the event after suffering a shoulder injury that forced him to retire from the US Open.

“A small setback like this, yeah, it hurt,” said Shelton, who won his first Masters 1000 title at the National Bank Open in August. “I was playing really well, I was in form, a lot of confidence. Just so many things to be happy with the way that I was playing, moving on the court, competing.

“But like I said, it's been a great summer, a lot of things to be thankful for. You won't hear me over here pouting about how bad things are with the summer that I've had, the things that I've been able to do in this sport in a short amount of time and the people I got around me, like I said, a lot of blessings.”

Laver Cup Rewind

*👉 Friday, September 12: Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal vs. Jack Sock & Frances Tiafoe (2022)
👉 Sunday, September 14: Carlos Alcaraz & Casper Ruud vs. Ben Shelton & Frances Tiafoe (2024)
👉 Monday, September 15: Daniil Medvedev vs. Ben Shelton (2024)
👉 Tuesday, September 16: Alexander Zverev vs. Frances Tiafoe (2024)
👉 Wednesday, September 17: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Taylor Fritz (2024)