Europe wins both Saturday night matches in London
Team Europe will take a 7–5 lead into the final day of the Laver Cup after Carlos Alcaraz survived two match points against Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud partnered Alexander Zverev to win Saturday’s closing doubles at The O2 in London.
Alcaraz beat Fritz 6–3, 4–6, [13–11] on September 26, drawing the overall contest level at 5–5. The Spaniard saved match points at 9–10 and 10–11 in the deciding match tiebreak before completing the victory on his third opportunity.
Ruud and Zverev then defeated Alexander Bublik and Brandon Nakashima 6–4, 7–6(7). Their two-point doubles win restored Europe’s lead and completed an unbeaten evening session for the hosts.
The earlier results had favoured Team World. Learner Tien defeated Flavio Cobolli 6–3, 2–6, [10–7], before Alex de Minaur recovered to beat Zverev 2–6, 7–6(5), [11–9]. Those victories had moved World from a 3–1 overnight deficit to a 5–3 advantage.
The title remains undecided. Matches on Sunday, September 27, are worth three points each, and the first team to reach 13 wins the competition. Europe therefore needs two more victories; World needs three.
The Laver Cup uses a 10-point match tiebreak when players split the first two sets. That format decided all three of Saturday’s singles matches, including Alcaraz’s win.