 "Carlos Alcaraz, playing with Alexander Zverev, lost to Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton in doubles on his Laver Cup debut. Image: Reuters")
Carlos Alcaraz suffered a losing debut at the Laver Cup on Friday when he and Team Europe partner Alexander Zverev were defeated in straight sets in their doubles clash against Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton of Team World.
The US pair’s 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win in the final match of the opening day in Berlin allowed Team World to level the tie overall at 2-2.
Fritz and Shelton fired 20 winners against world number two Zverev and third-ranked Alcaraz.
“We both served really well under pressure. Ben served incredibly well, so I didn’t have to hit any volleys. That was huge,” said Fritz playing for the first time since finishing runner-up to Jannik Sinner in the US Open final in New York 12 days ago.
Earlier Friday, Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 before Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled Team Europe level by seeing off Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4.
Grigor Dimitrov then edged Europe in front with a 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) victory against Alejandro Tabilo.
There will be three more singles matches and one doubles match in Berlin on Saturday.
Team World is bidding to win a third consecutive Laver Cup this year after triumphing in London in 2022 and Vancouver last year.