Team World is just two wins away from a third consecutive Laver Cup triumph after the men in red won three of their four matches at Berlin’s Uber Arena on Saturday to take an 8-4 lead going into the final day.

A day that had looked a little in the hosts’ favor ended with a humiliating doubles defeat for the men in blue. Team Europe had been expected to win the two afternoon singles, the evening singles between Zverev and Fritz seemed to be 50-50, while Team World was the favorite to win the doubles. The second and fourth matches of the day went as expected, with the big surprise coming in the match between Medvedev and Tiafoe.

An 8-4 lead on day three of the Laver Cup is by no means insurmountable. Two years ago, Team Europe took that lead into the final day in London, but was then wiped out in the first two singles matches and Team World secured victory when Frances Tiafoe saved four match points in a win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. With three points for each of the final day’s matches, Team Europe can reclaim the trophy with three wins from four matches, but given Saturday’s form, the momentum is against the Europeans.

There were two crucial periods in Saturday’s match where fortunes turned in Team World’s favor. The first came in the first singles match tiebreak. Daniil Medvedev had won the first set against Frances Tiafoe, leaving the American with just one set in five and a half games against the former US Open champion. When Tiafoe won the second set and leveled the match, he could feel his first victory.

At 4-4 in the tiebreak, fifth-seeded Medvedev was still the slight favorite, but 16th-seeded Tiafoe thrived in the team atmosphere and played his best tennis, winning six of the last seven points to turn the rankings on their head.

The second blow came in ten thrilling minutes of the second set of Alexander Zverev’s match against Taylor Fritz. A first set of tough rallies went to Fritz, but Zverev secured an early break in the second set. At 4-2 he looked in control and had two points for a double break to move 5-2 ahead. But another four brutal rallies went to Fritz, allowing him to hold serve, and in the next game he leveled at 4-4, breaking an increasingly tired-looking Zverev, who later admitted he had been a little banged up over the past week.

Fritz struck the ball so cleanly and moved so well that Zverev’s best players could not break through the American’s defense. And with Zverev at 5-5, it was no surprise when Fritz broke again and sealed the win.

Team World’s dominance in the doubles was clear. Led by the lively Ben Shelton, who had lost a close match to Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the day, the Spaniard won his first Laver Cup singles match 6-4, 6-4. The visitors should have won the first set 6-0 as Team Europe fended off two set points before taking a 0-5 lead.

Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo, a purely left-handed pair, were more united from the start. Shelton came to the net after most of his serves, while Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas played mainly from the baseline. Ruud in particular seemed uncomfortable, while Tsitsipas, doubles champion in Antwerp last year, was clearly Europe’s leader on the court. But the pair simply didn’t play well enough, with too many volley errors costing them important points, and Shelton and Tabilo smashing the ball on the European pair. Tsitsipas even had to endure the indignity of hitting an air shot, with the end of his racket catching his knee as the strings missed the ball.

The score was 6-1, 3-1 after 35 minutes and the crowd had little to catch, but then Ruud found his range from the back of the court and the match briefly became tightly contested. The sixth game was crucial as the Europeans looked to recover the break they had given up earlier in the set. They had two break points to level at 3-3. Ruud missed a reflex backhand volley on the first, Tsitsipas botched a drive on the second, leaving his lane unprotected. After Tabilo held for 4-2, the men in red never looked back, Shelton and Tabilo winning 6-1, 6-2 in 69 minutes.

Shelton was particularly motivated in the doubles. “I wanted to come out tonight and redeem myself,” he said. “Carlitos (Alcaraz) was just too good in the singles and Alejandro helped me.”

Sunday’s matches will begin one hour earlier than Friday and Saturday, at 12 noon local time with the opening doubles match, followed by up to three singles matches.