Carlos Alcaraz Saves Europe at Laver Cup
Carlos Alcaraz saved match points against Taylor Fritz to keep Team Europe ahead at the Laver Cup.
Alcaraz pulls Europe back ahead
Carlos Alcaraz gave Team Europe a 7-5 advantage after surviving a tense singles finish against Taylor Fritz in London. He survived. The world No. 3 took the opening set 6-3, but Fritz responded with a cleaner second-set performance and forced the deciding tie-break.
Alcaraz eventually won 13-11 after saving match points and finding his touch near the net under heavy pressure. Fritz had led 8-9 in the tie-break, yet Alcaraz answered with an ace before using his drop shot to deny another chance. The Spaniard then finished the match when Fritz could not reach a short ball.
A narrow escape after New York
This was Alcaraz’s first singles match since Ben Shelton beat him in the US Open quarterfinals. The win prevented consecutive singles losses for the first time in 18 months. Alcaraz has still won 8-2 across his last ten completed matches, which helps explain why he stayed composed despite the danger.
His drop shot decided the biggest points. “The drop shot is part of my game,” Alcaraz said. He produced 42 winners, while Fritz made 20, a wide attacking gap that mattered even as the American kept errors under control. Fritz, ranked No. 10 and 6-4 in his last ten completed matches, made the contest far tighter than those winner totals suggest.
Team World makes its case
Team World had built momentum earlier in the day. Alex de Minaur recovered from a set down to beat Alexander Zverev 2-6, 7-6 and then closed the deciding tie-break 11-9. Learner Tien also won his debut match against Flavio Cobolli, giving Andre Agassi’s side a real chance to take control.
That pressure made Alcaraz’s finish more significant. Fritz had previously beaten the Spaniard during Team World’s success in last year’s event, and he again pushed him to the limit. Shelton, ranked No. 9, arrives in the broader context after his New York win over Alcaraz. His own recent record stands at 6-4 across ten completed matches.
Europe holds the edge for Sunday
Europe retained the lead after Zverev returned alongside Casper Ruud for doubles. They beat Alexander Bublik and Brandon Nakashima 6-4, then edged a second-set tie-break 9-7. That result left Europe in front heading into the final schedule.
Sunday changes the equation. Each match win is worth three points, and the first side to reach 13 takes the trophy. Europe is pursuing a sixth title, while Team World enters as defending champion and seeks a third. Alcaraz’s recovery kept those targets alive, but the final day leaves little room for another escape.
Court Shark win probabilities are statistical estimates, not advice. No outcome is guaranteed.
Methodology and sources
How we build model estimates and where our information comes from.
Sources and citations
Rankings and recent results for the players named come from the Court Shark match database. The story is public tennis news, written up by the desk in its own words.
Limitations
Player figures are a snapshot taken when the story was written and do not update after publication.
About the desk
Who writes the Journal and how an article is put together. Read about the desk
Editorial standards
What we publish, what we check and how we decide what is fit to print. Read our standards
Corrections
Spotted an error? Write to hello@courtshark.ai and we will correct it and note the change. Read the corrections policy