Team Europe blew Laver Cup 2024 broad open in the first of the remaining day’s matches. Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud beat the Team World pairing of Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe 6-2 7-6(6) to slim the hole between the two groups to only one level with three matches to play.
With all 4 matches on the remaining day price three factors every, Team World’s 8-4 in a single day lead is now simply 8-7, which suggests each groups in Berlin must win two of the remaining three singles contests.
The doubles – performed first on Sunday after being the end-of-day match on Friday and Saturday – went a lengthy solution to being determined in the first three video games. A nervous begin for Alcaraz and Ruud led to them going through a break level in the second recreation, which they saved because of a fortuitous mis-hit forehand volley by the Spaniard.
Then in the subsequent recreation, the Europeans rode their luck, a Ruud forehand kissing the web and flying over Tiafoe’s racket to arrange three break factors. Alcaraz transformed the third of them with a backhand drop-volley performed with pleasant contact.
That breathed confidence into the blue pair, whereas it bred uncertainty in the reds. When the two Americans did not convert a break-back level in the fourth recreation, they started to look a little rattled, Shelton particularly lacking volleys he had made with ease in Saturday evening’s emphatic doubles win alongside Alejandro Tabilo.
Not solely did Europe’s captain Björn Borg present nice belief in Ruud after the nightmare the Norwegian suffered for a lot of Saturday’s doubles, however a lot of thought had clearly gone into the Alcaraz-Ruud pairing. Most notably they swapped sides for return video games, Ruud shifting to the deuce court docket and Alcaraz to the ‘ad’ facet. That meant most of the massive factors went to Alcaraz’s extra ebullient returns, with Ruud taking part in a extra strong function on the proper.
With the first set in the bag after 37 minutes, Europe may have taken the decisive step in the third recreation of the second set, when two break factors went begging. The Americans then regrouped to play a strong set with out ever having break factors. The sixth recreation included considered one of the most gorgeous pictures seen in a tennis match, Alcaraz reaching for a backhand volley which he angled throughout court docket that left Tiafoe on the mistaken facet of the web and the crowd going wild. “I felt so good, I’m not going to lie,” Alcaraz mentioned. “Juan Carlos [Ferrero, his coach] tells me not to do that in practice because he says I shouldn’t play that shot in matches, but I hope he was watching so he can see that I can use it in matches.”
The Spanish-Norwegian pair had one other alternative at 5-5 after a dramatic level which ended with Shelton tumbling over the promoting hoarding, happily unharmed, however Tiafoe saved the break level with a volley.
When Team World received three factors on the run in the tiebreak to show a 2-4 deficit into a 5-4 lead, it seemed as if the Americans had been peaking at simply the proper time, however the Europeans held agency and had a match level at 6-5 on the Shelton serve. Shelton saved it with a volley that tangled Alcaraz, however two factors later the males in blue pressured the guests to play yet one more shot, and a Shelton backhand went lengthy to seal victory for the dwelling staff after 100 absorbing minutes of play.
“It was a bit humiliating last night,” Ruud informed the crowd. “I felt like I’d never played doubles before, I felt embarrassed, but I went to bed knowing Carlos had said he’d like to play doubles with me. I don’t know why, but I’m glad he did. He’s such a great guy, and he brought out the best in me today.”
The remaining singles are Daniil Medvedev in opposition to Shelton, Alexander Zverev going through Tiafoe, and Alcaraz taking part in a doubtlessly winner-takes-all remaining match in opposition to Taylor Fritz.
