Laver Cup 2021 – ‘That could’ve been very unfortunate’ – Felix Auger-Aliassime slips on advertising hoarding

There was a scary moment for Felix Auger-Aliassime during his opening Laver Cup match against Matteo Berrettini as he slipped on an advertising hoarding.

The 21-year-old Canadian won the opening set of his clash with Berrettini and was chasing down a ball wide on his side of the court when he jumped up on top of a board and slipped badly onto the other side.

He was helped to his feet by a nearby cameraman and, very fortunately, was able to laugh off the incident as the crowd gave a concerned reaction inside TD Garden in Boston.

Thankfully he escaped without any injury, but the incident was a nervy one for the player and the crowd as Berrettini watched on with a concerned expression.

“Ooh! Wow!” exclaimed Chris Bradnam, on commentary for Eurosport at the time.

“Don’t panic, I’m alright!” he said, as Auger-Aliassime gestured to the umpire and his opponent to show that he was okay.

“That was a bit nervy for a moment. He didn’t need to do it!”

It wasn’t to be in the end for Auger-Aliassime as he lost in the deciding third-set tie-break with Berrettini able to just edge it after roaring back from a set down.

Earlier, Casper Ruud gave Team Europe the early lead as he brushed aside Reilly Opelka of Team World in straight sets in the opening rubber of the 2021 edition of the event.

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