A very interesting match concluded the opening day of the 2024 Laver Cup in Berlin as Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev were bested by Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz in a doubles contest.
As with all matches on day one of the Laver Cup, this match was worth one point. The three singles matches up until that point yielded two points for Team Europe and one point for Team World, making this a very important match.
Previously, Casper Ruud of Team Europe surprisingly lost to Francisco Cerundolo before Stefanos Tsitsipas stepped up to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Grigor Dimitrov sent Team Europe to the lead for the first time by beating Alejandro Tabilo.
Shelton and Fritz were the more dangerous duo, having shown some big promise in doubles before. Alcaraz isn't the best player in doubles, and while Zverev has played doubles often, this wouldn’t be an easy match for the European dup.
That was demonstrated quite early as the Americans breezed through their first few games while creating some minor pressure on their opponents from Team Europe. The courts in Berlin are quite high-bouncing, allowing the rallies to develop well most of the time.
The Americans had the first break points in Alcaraz's first service games, as Zverev's volleying wasn't as sharp at the start. The Americans secured the break to make it 3-1 early in the match, as the European team looked a bit disjointed.
There wasn’t much chemistry to start, which wasn’t a huge surprise. After breaking first, the Americans didn’t have too many issues holding serve. They were able to do that comfortably, barely losing any points on their serve.
The serving was impeccable from both Shelton and Fritz, and they were also outplaying the European team in the rallies. As the match went on, the Europeans started showing more confidence.
The first set seemed lost after the early break because the Americans came out with more urgency and energy, and having a fast start only emboldened them further. However, out of nowhere, the European team found a break point, and a superb return from Zverev converted it.
It was 5-4 for Team World as the opening set continued. It ended up in a tie-break, as both teams found a solid rhythm on serve and held without too many problems. It was a close tie-break, with minor chances on both sides.
The Americans were the first to get a mini-break, and they held it to win the opening set after winning the tiebreak 7-5. Only details separated them, and that was expected to continue in the second set as well.
The European team applied decent pressure early but couldn’t convert the break points they had, so the score remained tied at 2-2. Not much pressure was coming from either side, as the servers were just too good. It was 4-4 after eight games.
The cruise control ended in the next game, as Shelton and Fritz played a superb game to break at the perfect time. It was 5-4, and they had a chance to close out the match.
Shelton was serving, which was a huge problem because the American has been untouchable on his serve. He proved that with his last service game as the American team won 7-6(5) 6-4, making the overall score 2-2 after the first day of play at the 2024 Laver Cup.
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