Team World’s Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton pulled off a stunning doubles victory, defeating Europe’s Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev 7-6(5), 6-4, to level the Laver Cup score on the first day ¹. This thrilling win came after Europe took a 2-1 lead in the singles matches, with Stefanos Tsitsipas dominating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4, and Grigor Dimitrov edging out Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(4), 7-6(2) ¹.
Fritz credited their success to strong serving under pressure, particularly praising Shelton’s impressive performance ¹. The American duo’s 20 winners secured the win, leaving Alcaraz and Zverev struggling to keep up ¹.
However, Team World has now taken the lead with an 8-4 score after Saturday’s matches ². Frances Tiafoe’s surprise victory over Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz’s win over Alexander Zverev contributed to this lead ². The doubles victory by Ben Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo, defeating Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-2, further solidified Team World’s advantage ².
The Laver Cup concludes today, with three singles matches and a doubles match if necessary, starting at 12:00 local time ². Can Team Europe mount a comeback, or will Team World secure its third successive title?