The final match of the 2024 Laver Cup was contested between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz, and the Spaniard proved much better, winning in two sets.
As this was the last match of the event, it's clear that it was the match that decided who would win the competition. Before this match, Team World had 11 points overall, while Team Europe had 10 after Alexander Zverev completed an inspired comeback against Frances Tiafoe.
The winner of the match would get three points, and the overall winner is the first team to reach 13 points. Whoever won this match would secure the competition for their team and a solid payday for himself.
The two best players from each team faced each other, so it was supposed to be a really good match and a close one. However, it wasn't that way because Alcaraz came out super focused and just played some inspired tennis.
In fairness, Fritz helped massively because not only did he come out a bit lackluster, he couldn't find any solutions to his opponent's play. The 21-year-old broke first in the third game of the match, and from there, it quickly spiraled out of control, and after only 30 minutes, Alcaraz sealed the opening set 6-2.
The problem for Fritz was obvious. He wasn’t serving very well in the opening set, and that’s the most important part of his game. If he doesn’t serve well, then he’s very beatable, especially by a player such as Alcaraz.
He also didn’t hit the forehand very well. In that game in which he was broken, he sent the ball too many times. He needed to improve, but Alcaraz played strong tennis, not allowing the American too many chances.
The Team Europe player played very precise, close to the lines. He also served exceptionally well, which has been the case all this event and made a huge difference.
Fritz started well in the second set, winning the first game of the second set very easily. He almost won his second serving game easily as well, but he surprisingly lost it. He was up 40-0 and then lost five points in a row to lose his serve.
That was not good enough and certainly not good enough for the way Alcaraz was playing – very focused and motivated. Unfortunately for fans in Berlin, it was a bit of an anticlimactic finish to the 2024 Laver Cup, given all the exciting matches that led to this decider.
It was a pure domination from Alcaraz – from start to finish. Alcaraz gave Fritz a minor chance at 2-1 after a double fault, but he saved the break point. Another chance followed for the American, but the four-time major winner saved it as well to make it 3-1.
It was just too little and a bit too late for Fritz, who played much better in the other singles match against Alexander Zverev. However, the American broke back in the second set, but Alcaraz was still able to win the match in two sets, 6-2, 7-5, as Team Europe won the Laver Cup for the first time since Boston in 2021, winning the tie 13-11.
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