Alexander Zverev lived up to his ‘best player in the world’ tag to secure Laver Cup success for Team Europe in London and give rival Carlos Alcaraz the day off.
Zverev had been talked up by Alcaraz after recent French Open and US Open wins before this Ryder Cup-style event at The O2, but the German lost in the doubles on Friday and let slip multiple match points against Alex De Minaur on Saturday.
Alcaraz wrestled back the initiative at the end of day two before Zverev teamed up with Casper Ruud to triumph in the doubles and leave Team Europe only two victories from glory ahead of Sunday’s session.
Flavio Cobolli and Jakub Mensik moved Team Europe a step closer by beating key Team World duo Taylor Fritz and De Minaur in the doubles, which opened the door for Zverev to bring a run of three defeats in four editions for Team Europe to an end.
Zverev struggled against Laver Cup rookie Learner Tien, although did have the insurance policy of team-mate Alcaraz up next if required, but the two-time major winner secured a 7-6 (3) 6-3 victory to help Team Europe prevail by a 13-5 score in front of tournament co-founder Roger Federer.
Zverev said: “It was an incredible team effort and especially after I lost yesterday to Alex. I was quite down and the team really helped me back up and push forward for the doubles, which I think was quite an important match.
“Carlos kicked us off in the night session with a very important win. It was definitely a massive team effort.”
This was only the second tournament played by Alcaraz after a four-month lay-off with a wrist injury and the seven-time grand slam champion delivered two key wins.
After he missed out on the grass-court season in London, this victory kept up his record of lifting silverware in England’s capital in each of the last four years.
“For me, it’s great to be back here and part of Team Europe,” Alcaraz reflected after he was able to skip a scheduled singles tie with De Minaur after an unassailable 13-5 advantage had been built up.
“I’m just really happy I’ve been able to play a couple of matches and to see my level is good. Obviously winning the Laver Cup with these guys is special and I love the feeling of it.”
Team World captain Andre Agassi bounced onto the black court at The O2 all smiles despite a difficult end to day two where Alcaraz downed Taylor Fritz before Team Europe duo Zverev and Casper Ruud beat Alexander Bublik and Brandon Nakashima in the doubles.
It ensured Team Europe only required two wins to clinch a sixth Laver Cup success, but Cobolli and Mensik were quickly a break down against Agassi’s star men of Fritz and De Minaur.
However, US Open mixed doubles champion Mensik soon found his range and a bullet backhand return sealed the first set before a powerful forehand whizzed past Fritz to secure a break to go 3-1 up.
Two excellent volleys at the net by Cobolli helped Mensik serve out for a three-point win to move Team Europe a step closer to victory.
“It is the third year I came to the Laver Cup and I never won a match, so I am really happy it happens here in London where I love to play,” Cobolli said.
With Alcaraz up the sleeve of captain Yannick Noah and in-form Zverev facing debutant Tien, Team Europe were on the home stretch.
Tricky conditions at The O2 made life tough for Zverev, but he recovered from squandering multiple set points to take a 69-minute opener on a tie-break before a break to go 4-2 up in the second proved enough to seal Team Europe success on a third Laver Cup point.
It sparked big celebrations before Team World captain Agassi stole the show with his on-court speech after he poked fun at Zverev, Alcaraz and Cobolli, but the American great had no regrets despite defeat in London.
Agassi said: “I mean hindsight? What the hell. Sorry for going philosophical, I don’t spend much time in the past or the future.
“I am not regretful. We had some epic battles out there and I think the sport won.”
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