Europe has won the Laver Cup for the first time since 2021 after Carlos Alcaraz secured victory in his winner-take-all showdown with Taylor Fritz.
The four-time Grand Slam champion entered into the final match of the tie with Europe trailing 11-12 to Team World but with two points available for the winner. With all to play for, Alcaraz held his nerves to secure a 6-2, 7-5, win over US Open runner-up Fritz in what was his third win out of four matches played (including doubles) in this weekend’s tie.
Although the latest victory was far from straightforward for the Spaniard who lost a 4-2 lead against Fritz in the second set after producing an error-stricken game but broke back with the help of back-to-back forehand errors from the American. He sealed the win with a serve out wide that was returned into the net.
Europe came into the final day of the tie down 4-8 to their opponents but managed to turn their fortunes around with a trio of victories. Alcaraz’s triumph over Fritz followed his victory in the doubles alongside Casper Ruud. The duo beat Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe 6–2, 7–6(6). Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev beat Tiafoe 6–7(7), 7–5, 10–5. The only triumph for Team World on the final day was for Shelton who ousted a fiery Daniil Medvedev 6-7(6), 7-5, 10-7.
“It’s great obviously. We came here with a goal, all of us. It was to win the Laver Cup.” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview.
“I’m really happy, I think everybody for us is, we are really, really happy about reaching our goal, winning the Laver Cup. All of us did pretty good work over the days.
“It’s been a really tough one (tie). We almost lost but Sascha (Zverevb) came up with really good tennis and gave me the chance to win the Laver Cup.
“I think we are really, really happy with, with with everything.”
Europe’s win occurs during the final year their captain will be Sweden’s Bjorn Borg, who is stepping away from the role. Under his captaincy, he has won the title in five out of seven years. Taking over his position will be France’s Yannick Noah. There will also be a change for Team World from next year with Andre Agassi taking over from John McEnroe.
“It’s always tough to play Team World at Laver Cup,” Borg said. “I’m very proud of my team.”
Despite not offering any ranking points, the Laver Cup rewards players handsomely when it comes to prize money. Each player from the winning team will receive $250,000 which is more than what they would receive for reaching the third round of this year’s US Open.
Next year’s Laver Cup will return to North America. It will be held at Chase Center in San Francisco, home of the seven-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
