Four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz led Team Europe to their fifth title win in the Laver Cup 2024 on Sunday. The Spaniard defeated Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5, and helped his side defeat Team World 13-11 in the last session of the tournament on Sunday in Berlin. Alcaraz’s victory versus Fritz was his second of the weekend and contributed three more points to his team’s total.
Alcaraz broke Fritz, the runner-up at the U.S. Open, in the eleventh game and sealed the match on serve. This set off celebrations in Berlin, where the Europe team was reunited with captain Bjorn Borg. After leading 8-4 on points going into the last day of competition, Team World was the clear favorite to win the Laver Cup for a third consecutive year.
But Team Europe made a strong comeback when Alcaraz and Casper Ruud defeated Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe in the first doubles match to tie the score at 7-8. Ben Shelton, however, defeated Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev 6-7(6), 7-5, 10-7 to increase Team World’s lead even further.
With a 6-7(5) 7-5 10-5 triumph over Francis Tiafoe, French Open finalist Alexander Zverev stoked Team Europe’s hopes once again and pushed the competition into an exciting finale. In the summit clash, Alcaraz defeated Fritz in straight sets to clinch victory for his team. Following their victory, the 21-year-old Spaniard dedicated the title win to Team Europe’s retiring captain Borg.
The Laver Cup is structured similarly to the Ryder Cup in golf, with the winner being the first team to reach 13 points. There were four games on Sunday, and each one was worth three points. Alcaraz, the winner of this year’s Wimbledon and French Open, recorded Europe’s lone victory in the four games played on Saturday.
We did it for you. It’s great; obviously, we came here with a goal, all of us, that is to win the Laver Cup. We almost lost, you know, but Sascha [Zverev] came with really good tennis and gave me the chance to win the Laver Cup, so I think we are really, really happy with everything. It’s really difficult to watch the matches from outside; you know, a lot of nerves are killing us, said Alcaraz after triumphing a crucial win.
Borg acknowledged the challenge posed by Team World and stated that he’s proud of his team. It’s always tough to play Team World at the Laver Cup. First of all, I’m very proud of my team. What we did today. If you look at this morning, I thought we were not going to have a really good chance, but we came through. Thank you, guys; we had a good week, and thank you very much for what you did, said Borg.
Borg and John McEnroe signed off as captains of Team Europe and Team World after the Laver Cup 2024. The former Swedish player gave his rival captain a heartfelt tribute after lifting the trophy. I’m going to miss John a lot. Of course, we’re going to see each other. I remember when Roger called me and asked if I wanted to be captain of Team Europe. That was 8 years ago.
I didn’t know what to say. But I was happy to say yes. And he said John would be captain of Team World. John, we’ve been having a good time. Even if you guys lost, Borg expressed. The next edition of the Laver Cup will take place in San Francisco.
