Alcaraz, Zverev provide heroics as Europeans win Laver Cup thriller

Although Team World was a significant underdog going into the 2024 Laver Cup at Uber Arena in Berlin Germany, it seemed to be in control following to days of competition and also halfway through Sunday’s order of play.

Captain John McEnroe’s side had to win just one of the last two matches, but it could not get across the finish line.

Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz came up clutch for Team Europe to pave the way for a comeback victory. Zverev was two games from what would have been a Cup-ending loss to Frances Tiafoe, but the German came back from 4-2 down in the second set to prevail 6-7(5), 7-5, 10-5. After that it all came down to Alcaraz vs. Taylor Fritz, and the third-ranked Spaniard defeated the U.S. Open runner-up 6-2, 7-5.

“It’s always tough to play Team World at (the) Laver Cup,” Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg assured. “You’ve seen good tennis this week and I thought that we weren’t going to win it, but the guys played great tennis and we came through. For me to spend time with these players in Team Europe, it’s a lot of fun. We have a good team spirit and we gave everything. I’m very proud of my team.”

“It’s great,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview. “Obviously we came here with a goal, to win the Laver Cup. We are very, very happy about reaching our goal. We almost lost, but Sascha came with really good tennis and gave me the chance to win.”

It was the final year for captains McEnroe and Borg. They will be replaced by Andre Agassi and Yannick Noah, respectively, starting next September in San Francisco, California.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.