Carlos Alcaraz clinches Laver Cup victory for Team Europe, completes comeback over Team World in Berlin

Carlos Alcaraz clinched a fifth Laver Cup victory for Team Europe and first since 2021, thwarting Taylor Fritz, 6-2, 7-5 to end the weekend with a 13-11 final score over Team World. Of those 13 total points, Alcaraz helped to win eight.

Alcaraz followed teammate Alexander Zverev's 6-7 (6), 7-5, 10-5 win over Frances Tiafoe, who was two games from winning a third straight Laver Cup for Team World, and earned his second win of Day 3 after opening Sunday with a men's doubles victory alongside Casper Ruud, defeating Fritz just about 90 minutes in Berlin's Uber Arena.

Day 3 of Laver Cup, which first launched in 2017, began with Team World ahead 8-4 after a successful Saturday saw them win three of Day 2’s four matches, including Tiafoe’s 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 victory over Daniil Medvedev. Though Tiafoe couldn’t keep the momentum going in men’s doubles—Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud defeated the all-American team of Tiafoe and Ben Shelton to kick off Sunday’s order of play—Shelton got Team World back on track with another match tiebreak win over Medvedev, 6-7 (6), 7-5, 10-7.

Shelton’s win put Tiafoe in pole position to take home the trophy for Team World, but the US Open semifinalist faced an uphill battle in Zverev, an opponent he last beat at the 2017 Cincinnati Open. Up a set and 4-2 on Zverev, Tiafoe couldn't close the deal, leaving it up to Fritz to avenge his countryman against Alcaraz.

Fritz has enjoyed a revelatory summer, having reached his first major final at the US Open earlier this month. Though he fell short of becoming the first American man to win a major title since Andy Roddick in 2003, the world No. 7 made a bright start to his Laver Cup campaign, pairing Shelton to win a men's doubles match on Friday and defeating Zverev in singles on Saturday.

Alcaraz, who suffered a shock second-round exit from Flushing Meadows, was also victorious on Day 2, defeating Ben Shelton in straight sets. The Spaniard then held off a late surge from Shelton and Tiafoe in men's doubles earlier on Sunday to keep Team Europe in the mix down to the final match with the score all but tied at 10-11 (World).

Alcaraz stormed through the opening set and took an early break lead in the second, saving three break points in a long fourth game to consolidate.

But just like the last match between Zverev and Tiafoe, the player down a set and 4-2 found themselves at an improbable advantage. Fritz came alive in kind, roaring through the next three games to put the match on the brink of a decider.

Alcaraz responded with a strong hold to level the set and drew a forehand error from Fritz to break back and find himself serving for the title. Another forehand into the net from Fritz pulled up two match/Laver Cup points. Fritz saved one with a strong passing shot, but couldn't save the second and Alcaraz was joined by his Team Europe teammates to celebrate their fifth total Laver Cup win.