Carlos Alcaraz leads Team Europe to victory in thrilling Laver Cup final
Team Europe strategised their moves perfectly in-sync with the Laver Cup point system to clinch the trophy in the latest edition. Until Saturday, the second day of the event, Team World boasted a significant 8-4 lead against Europe. However, some tenacious display on the final day led Team Europe to stop Team World’s attempt to claim the Laver Cup Trophy for the third time in a row. Unlike the usual schedule, the final day of 2024 Laver Cup witnessed the teams engaging in a doubles clash first. Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud, both of whom had lost their doubles fixtures on the earlier days, paired up on Sunday and handed a 6-2, 7-6 defeat to Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe. The win set the tone for Europe’s ultimate win led by Carlos Alcaraz.
The 8-4 lead set by Team World over Europe ahead of the Laver Cup final
The Laver Cup 2024 started on September 20 with Team World coming to Berlin in an attempt to claim the title for the third time straight. The anticipation for the ATP event was amplified with the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz making his debut. The first day, where every match accounts for one point each witnessed drawing the curtains at levels. Team World claimed the doubles clash as Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton beat Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev. Team Europe, meanwhile, clinched two singles wins as Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov overcame Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alejandro Tabilo respectively. Francisco Cerunaldo claimed the only win for Team World in singles event on Friday as he beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4.
Saturday marked the onset of intense battle as Team World brought out its best to take a lead on Europe. Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe won their respective singles fixtures, taking 2 points each. Frances Tiafoe, meanwhile, earned his first-ever win over the World no. 5 ranked Daniil Medvedev, beating him 3-6, 6-4, 10-5. Fritz, moreover, overcame Zverev 6-5, 7-5. Carlos Alcaraz was the sole winner from Team Europe in the singles fixture on Saturday as he defeated Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-4. Finally, Team World took an 8-4 lead at the conclusion of the second day as Tabilo and Shelton clinched a 6-1, 6-2 win over Europe’s duo of Tsitsipas and Ruud.
Team Europe stages the ultimate comeback on final day to win Laver Cup 2024 trophy
With 3 points up for grabs in every match, the stakes rose the highest on Sunday as both the teams stayed in contention for the victory. Team Europe put forth a well-planned move to kick off the final proceedings. The Bjorn Borg captained team paired Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz for the ultimate doubles battle. The Norwegian and Spaniard switched their court positions as Alcaraz took the deuce and Ruud went for the ‘ad’ side. While the clash started with Team Europe at the backfoot, Alcaraz and Ruud ultimately claimed a 6-2, 7-6 victory over Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe. Consequently, the 8-4 lead set by team World over Europe closed to 8-7 with the singles event still remaining.
Ben Shelton revived the chances of Team World in the Laver Cup trophy contention as he kicked off the singles event with a win. The American beat the Australian open finalist Daniil Medvedev 6-7, 7-5, 10-7 as Team World maintained the lead with an 11-7 scoreline. However, the US Open semifinalist, Frances Tiafoe fumbled in the next clash against Zverev. While Tiafor opened the match with a hard-fought win in the first set, Sascha proved better in the evening, winning the next sets 7-5, 10-5. The scoreline came neck-to-neck with Zverev’s victory as it read 11-10 with just the ultimate battle remaining.
You gotta love the Laver Cup. pic.twitter.com/YErtOsX7Ad
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 23, 2024
Team Europe’s chances came down to rely solely on Carlos Alcaraz who was pitted against Taylor Fritz in the ultimate showdown. Though a newbie at Laver Cup, Alcaraz, the 4-time Grand Slam champion brought all his experience to the court against Fritz. The 21-year-old beat Fritz 6-2, 7-5 as he snatched the win in the 11th game. Team Europe with Bjorg Born in the stands erupted in celebrations as they clinched the trophy after a 2-season long wait. Moreover, with Team World cited as the favourites for almost the whole run of the edition, Europe pulled off a miracle to claim the victory.
Bjorn Borg, the Team Europe captain opened up on the victory at the conclusion of the day’s play. Borg, who saw the last of his captaincy stint at the Laver Cup, credited Zverev and Alcaraz for the win despite the hopes being low early on Sunday.
“At the start of today I wasn’t sure we had much opportunity to win,” Björn Borg admitted after his team’s 13-11 victory. “What these guys delivered is very impressive, especially Sascha [Zverev] and Carlitos [Alcaraz]. They had a lot of pressure on them in the last two matches, and they played very well,” Bjorg concluded.
Despite the tide being against them throughout most of the Laver Cup 2024, Team Europe put on a spirited performance. The team brought together rivals like Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Daniil Medvedev in Berlin. However, Europe displayed seamless camaraderie among teammates in the season where they ultimately took down Team World, who had been credited with better team chemistry in the history of the ATP event.
