After three seasons, Europa reconquered the Making Cup by defeating the World Team 13-11 with a formidable task on the last day of Carlos Alcarazdecisive with a victory in the doubles early in the game, and then by beating Taylor Fritz in the match that decided everything.
The Europeans entered the third and final day of the exhibition tournament in Berlin with an 8-4 disadvantage, but took advantage of the higher points from each victory (three for each match) on the third day. Alcaraz, 21, who was participating in the Laver for the first time, won 6-2 and 7-5 against his American rival, a recent finalist at the US Open.
Everyone in Team Europe hugs Carlos Alcaraz, after the Spaniard’s great victory over Taylor Fritz. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) – Credits: @ODD ANDERSEN
To stay in the race, Europe won the doubles match on Sunday, in which Alcaraz and the Norwegian Casper Ruud beat the Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe by 6-2 and 7-6 (8-6). But Shelton himself allowed him to add three points to the rest of the world by beating the Russian Daniil Medvedev by 6-7 (6-8), 7-5 and 10-7, after a super tie-break. Forced to win, Alexander Zverev scored a vital victory by beating Francis Tiafoe by 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 and 10-5. Then, Alcaraz completed the comeback. On the last day, Europe won three of the four matches to reverse the series. After the victories of the rest of the world in 2023 and 2022, Europe regains its dominance in this competition launched in 2017, which it has won five times, against two by the World Team.
The four-time Grand Slam champion from Murcia was compared to the best Roger Federer, the driving force behind the Laver Cup, after his victory, a comparison that Alcaraz described as “impossible”. “I am too far from that level. I hope to reach it one day,” he said.
Alcaraz took advantage of his time at the press conference to highlight his dissatisfaction with the high number of games in the season. “They are killing us”warned the number 3 in the world ranking in this regard.
The Spaniard said: “Many believe that this calendar is fine, but others think that There are many mandatory tournaments and there will probably be years to come with even more. In a way, They are killing us. Now there are many injuries due to the calendar and other things, but at some point There will be players who will have to skip tournaments because they have to take care of their body, their family, and another life apart from tennis.”
Ruud, Dimitrov and Tsitsipas greet Alcaraz after the victory in the last point. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) – Credits: @ODD ANDERSEN
“It’s hard to always be okay. Sometimes I don’t feel motivated I’m not really into it and I have some difficult moments. There are no days off and sometimes I would like to have them, but I can’t because I have commitments. I always want to win, but my best tennis comes when I’m well motivated. After the North American tour, these team tournaments like the Davis Cup or the Laver Cup have been very good for me to regain confidence. Being with my teammates is a unique experience and it helps a lot, it’s good for me. I learn a lot from them and a captain like Björn [Borg] He is a great support for me, he tells me the tactics at all times, a tournament like this is a unique experience,” added the player born in El Palmar, who So far in 2024, he has accumulated 50 games, with 41 wins and 9 losses..
It was the last time that the legendary Björn Borg for Europe and John McEnroe for the rest of the world were captains of their respective teams. Present since 2017, they will be replaced next year by the Frenchman Yannick Noah and the American André Agassi, respectively.
