Team World’s captain Andre Agassi says his players never stopped believing in themselves after they won the Laver Cup title for the third time in the past four years on Sunday.
Heading into the final day of this year’s tournament, Team World had a 9-3 lead over Europe, which had five players currently ranked in the world’s top 20. Carlos Alcaraz paired up with Casper Ruud to claim a win for Europe before the world No.1 won his singles clash against Francisco Cerundolo later on the same day.
However, Alcaraz’s double victory wasn’t enough to turn around the tides, as Team World won the other two matches. Alex de Minaur defeated Jakub Mensikl 6-3, 6-4, before Taylor Fritz clinched the title with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Alexander Zverev.
“Seeing these guys on the bench getting pumped up, seeing a legend of the sport like Andre jumping out of his seat, cheering for me, it’s impossible not to be so fired up and just give it everything you have,” said Fritz.
The triumph coincides with Agassi’s debut in the event this year as captain. During his career, he won eight Grand Slam titles and spent 101 weeks as the world No. 1. Nevertheless, the American describes his Laver Cup experience as one of the most memorable moments of his life in the sport.
“Everybody played a part in making this one of the most memorable weeks I’ve ever spent on a tennis court,” Agassi told reporters.
“I can honestly say that, and that’s saying something, because it was a lot of years I’ve been out there in one form or another with a perceived team, but this really was a team.
“So proud of the guys. Just unflappable. They never stopped believing.”
Team World won 15 out of the 24 points available during the three-day event. Besides Fritz and de Minaur, Francisco Cerundolo, Alex Michelsen, Joao Fonseca, Reilly Opelka and alternate Jenson Brooksby were also members of the team, with Pat Rafter being vice-captain.
Meanwhile, Europe will be hoping to regain the title next year when the tournament heads to London. It will be held at The O2 Arena, which is the former venue of the ATP Finals before it moved to Turin.
“We lost against a better team,” Europe captain Yannick Noah said. “They played great. We represented the Laver Cup the best we could, and it was a great level of tennis.”
“I look forward to the next year and have one year to become a better captain.” He added.
Besides the title, every member of Team World will receive $250,000 in prize money. This is on top of their appearance fees, which are determined by their world ranking.
