Europe have taken a 3-1 lead on Team World after day one of the Laver Cup despite Joao Fonseca winning on his debut.
The tie is being played in San Francisco as Team Europe are bidding for a sixth crown after claiming the title last year in a close 13-11 contest in Berlin.
This year has seen the first year with new captains with Yannick Noah leading Team Europe while Andre Agassi is captaining Team World.
It was Casper Ruud who set the tone for this year’s tie as he scored a 6-4 7-6(4) victory over Reilly Opelka to give Europe a 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Jakub Mensik gave Europe a 2-0 lead after the day session with a 6-1 6-7(4) 10-8 victory over Alex Michelsen.
After the match Mensik was pleased with his debut as he contributed heavily to Europe’s success, “We’ve known each other since juniors, so we knew a lot about ourselves on the court,” Mensik told the ATP website.
“With this format, with the Match Tie-break in the third, it’s always tough for your nerves, but I’m happy that I stayed focused until the end and I kept fighting. I’m glad that I helped my team take a point.”
It wasn’t just the singles court where Mensik triumphed as he teamed up with Carlos Alcaraz to defeat Taylor Fritz and Alex Michelsen 7-6(7) 6-4 to end day one.
There was a consolation for Team World as Joao Fonseca secured a win on his debut as he defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-4 6-3 to begin the night session.
After the match Fonseca admitted he was nervous but was happy to secure the victory, “I think my team helped me a lot, to stay positive during the match,” Fonseca told the ATP website.
“I was a little bit more nervous than usual. It’s normal. And then after I started talking a little bit more with Andre and the team… I was playing good in the beginning, but I was still a little bit nervous and making a lot of mistakes, but after I got through so I’m very happy with that.”
Day two will begin with Alexander Zverev taking on Alex De Minaur which will be followed by Holger Rune facing Francisco Cerundolo.
The night session will see Carlos Alcaraz face Taylor Fritz before Casper Ruud teams up with Holger Rune to face Alex De Minaur and Alex Michelsen.
The day session will begin at 21:00 BST while the night session starts at 03:00 BST in the morning.
Each win on day two is worth two points as Team World look to narrow the deficit heading into the final day.
