Laver Cup 2024 Report

Team Europe wins nerve-wracking seventh edition of Laver Cup 

Team Europe won the seventh edition of the Laver Cup. On a nerve-wracking final day, it was none other than Carlos Alcaraz who ultimately secured victory for the Europeans with a victory over Taylor Fritz. For a long time, it looked like Team World would take home their third consecutive victory, but captain Björn Borg's team managed to come back from an 8-4 deficit on the Berlin hardcourt on the thrilling final day. This marked the fifth Laver Cup victory for the team, featuring top European tennis players, after 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. 

Day 1 (current score: 2-2) 

The opening match of the 2024 Laver Cup was between Francisco Cerundolo (Team World) and Casper Ruud (Team Europe). A single break in the first set was enough for the Argentinian Cerundolo to take the first set 6-4, after which he appeared to win the second set with ease. However, Ruud managed a rebreak, but Cerundolo was unfazed and won the second set 6-4. Shortly after, Stefanos Tsitsipas (Team Europe) and Thanasi Kokkinakis (Team World) took the court, and this resulted in a short match, which was quickly decided in the Greek player's favor: 6-1, 6-4. With that, he tied the score at 1-1 and brought Team Europe back to level the score.  

Grigor Dimitrov (Team Europe) and Alejandro Tabilo (Team World) had the honor of playing the first evening match at the event named after tennis legend Rod Laver. It was a thrilling match, with the first set ultimately decided in Dimitrov's favor after a tiebreak. Tabilo fought back and took a 5-1 lead in the second set, but then Dimitrov started to gain the upper hand again. He broke Tabilo's serve twice, forced a tiebreak, and ultimately won it, giving Team Europe the lead (2-1). The highlight of the day was the doubles match between Carlos Alcaraz/Alexander Zverev (Team Europe) and Taylor Fritz/Ben Shelton (Team World). It was a thrilling match with spectacular points, and ultimately, it was the Americans Fritz and Shelton who prevailed (7-6, 6-4). 

Day 2 (current score: 4-8) 

The second day of the Laver Cup opened with a match between Daniil Medvedev (Europe) and Frances Tiafoe (World). The Russian easily won the first set (6-3), but Tiafoe didn't panic and took the second set with a break in the first game (6-4). A super tiebreak was then needed to decide who could add two points to the Laver Cup total, and Tiafoe proved the better of the two: 10-5. Next up were Alcaraz and Ben Shelton, and in that match, two breaks in the Spaniard's favor proved enough (6-4, 6-4) to level the score between Team World and Team Europe at 4-4. 

On the evening of the second day, Team World secured four points and built an 8-4 lead. Zverev and Fritz faced off first, and a break in the final game of the first set secured Fritz's 6-4 victory. Zverev appeared to be fighting back in the second set, but Fritz had other ideas and completely turned the set around, winning 7-5, securing the first two points of the evening for Team World. The doubles match that followed was also a win for captain John McEnroe's team. Shelton and Tabilo made light work of their European opponents, Tsitsipas and Ruud, and managed to win the match in just over an hour: 6-1, 6-2. 

Day 3 (final score: 13-11) 

Trailing 8-4, Team Europe knew they had their work cut out for them on the third and final day of the Laver Cup, which began with a doubles match between Alcaraz/Ruud and Tiafoe/Shelton. Because each win earned three points on that day, the stakes were high for both teams. Although Ruud had been soundly defeated by Shelton in a doubles match the day before, the match went smoothly for Team Europe. They won the first set easily (6-2), after which the second set was also decided in favor of Alcaraz and Ruud after a tiebreak. Barely recovered from the defeat, Shelton was immediately called upon for a singles match against Medvedev. The crucial match – Team World was 8-7 ahead at the time – turned into a thriller, which had to be decided by a super tiebreak after two exciting sets. Shelton had the upper hand, winning the tiebreak 10-7, bringing the score to 11-7. This meant Team World was just one victory away from their third consecutive Laver Cup title.  

The pressure was therefore high for both Zverev and Tiafoe, who played the third match of the final day against each other. It turned into a marathon match, with Tiafoe winning the first set (7-6), meaning the American only needed one more set to secure the Laver Cup victory for his team. After breaking away in the second set, victory seemed imminent, but Zverev rallied and eventually won the set 7-5. Because Zverev subsequently won the super tiebreak and the score between Team World and Team Europe after this match was 11-10 in favor of Team World, Alcaraz and Fritz had to decide the winner of the 2024 Laver Cup in the very last duel. It was Alcaraz who made the strongest impression in this match, and after an hour and a half of tennis, the score was 6-2, 7-5 in favor of the Spaniard. The 13-11 final score, and thus the final victory of the 2024 Laver Cup for Team Europe, was a fact. 

Results day 1:
Ruud – Cerundolo 4-6, 4-6
Tsitsipas – Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4
Dimitrov – Tabilo 7-6, 7-6
Alcaraz/Zverev – Fritz/Shelton 6-7, 4-6 

Results day 2:
Medvedev – Tiafoe 6-3, 4-6, 5-10
Alcaraz – Shelton 6-4, 6-4
Zverev – Fritz 4-6, 5-7
Ruud/Tsitsipas – Shelton/Tabilo 1-6, 2-6 

Results day 3:
Alcaraz/Ruud – Tiafoe/Shelton 6-2, 7-6
Medvedev -Shelton 7-6, 5-7, 7-10
Zverev – Tiafoe 6-7, 7-5, 10-5
Alcaraz – Fritz 6-2, 7-5