Carlos Alcaraz leads Team Europe to comeback victory over Team World in the Laver Cup
By George Ramsay, CNN
(CNN) — Carlos Alcaraz led Team Europe to a comeback victory over Team World in the Laver Cup on Sunday, triumphing in both his singles and his doubles matchups.
Europe had trailed 4-8 heading into the final day in Berlin, but Alcaraz secured the 13-11 victory by defeating Taylor Fritz in straight sets, hours after he also won his doubles match over Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe alongside Casper Ruud.
It marked Europe’s fifth win in the Laver Cup and first since 2021. The event sees six of the best men’s tennis players from Europe and the rest of the world go up against each other across a three-day competition.
“It’s great, obviously, we came here with a goal, all of us, that is to win the Laver Cup,” said Alcaraz. “We almost lost, but Sascha (Alex Zverev) came with really good tennis and gave me the chance to win the Laver Cup, so I think we are really, really happy with everything.”
Zverev had lost the first set of his singles match against Tiafoe but ultimately claimed all three points for his team when he won the crucial tie-break, prevailing 6-7(5) 7-5 10-5.
That set the stage for Alcaraz to sweep aside US Open finalist Fritz 6-2 7-5 for his third victory of the weekend, amassing a tournament-record eight points.
The 21-year-old Spaniard endured a challenging period last month, losing in the first round of the Cincinnati Open and then in the second round of the US Open – his earliest exit at the grand slam for more than three years.
However, he looked to have rediscovered his form in Berlin’s Uber Arena, showing few signs of nerves during his high-stakes match against Fritz.
Both Alcaraz and Zverev had faced must-win singles matches for Europe after Daniil Medvedev played what he described as “some of the worst tennis of my life” in a singles defeat to Shelton.
Europe’s victory rounded off a successful campaign for team captain Björn Borg, who, along with World captain John McEnroe, will step down from Laver Cup duties having led their teams since the inaugural competition in 2017.
“Four or five hours ago, I thought, ‘We’re not going to win this,’” Borg said after Sunday’s matches. “But the guys came through and they played great tennis. For me, to spend time with these players in Team Europe, it’s a lot of fun. We have a good team spirit and they give everything possible. I’m very proud of my team.”
Borg will be replaced by former French Open champion Yannick Noah, while eight-time major winner Andre Agassi will become the Team World captain ahead of next year’s competition in San Francisco.
The-CNN-Wire
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