“Today is a new day”: Carlos Alcaraz puts Team Europe in position for first Laver Cup tie

Carlos Alcaraz shook off a stunning 2025 Laver Cup loss on Saturday to rebound in classic style Sunday evening, following up his doubles win with Casper Ruud to blitz Francisco Cerundolo, 6-2, 6-1, and put Team Europe on the brink of a first-ever tie with Team World.

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Starting the day down 9-3, a win for Alexander Zverev over Taylor Fritz would tie the competition at 12 points apiece, forcing both teams to nominate a doubles team to play one set to determine who wins the title.

“If the team needs me, I will be there for sure,” Alcaraz said with a smile. “Right now, we have to support Sascha and let’s see if he’s going to tie the score. Then, we will see if the weird thing happens with the 12-all.”

But first, Alcaraz needed to continue chipping away at Team World’s massive lead, earned in part due to the world No. 1’s own straight-set defeat to Friz on Saturday. Alcaraz and Ruud snapped the four-match losing streak to kick off Day 3 with a s 7-6 (4), 6-1 doubles win over Alex Michelsen and Reilly Opelka, and Alcaraz proved even more dominant against Cerundolo.

“I had to be different than last night, I think that’s obvious,” Alcaraz told Jim Courier on court. “The doubles this morning helped me a lot, getting a win, starting the day with a win, playing the level we played pushed me to play great tennis.

“Today’s a big day for us because we had to come back. I think the best tennis has to show up when it matters.”

Team World put themselves a point away from victory thanks to a singles victory from Alex de Minaur over Jakub Mensik, and could avoid the tiebreaker if Fritz wins a sixth straight match over Zverev—the American leads their head-to-head 8-5.

“I think yesterday Team World played exceptional, everyone,” said Alcaraz. “Today is a new day. Today, three points, when the pressure is there, the body responds in a good way. So, we hope Taylor Fritz is not going to play like last night. But let’s see.

“I have a strong belief in Sascha, that he’s been putting so much work in on the court to feel better. I think he’s going to play great, and we’re going to be behind him, supporting, and having the whole team behind him. So, it’s going to be a great match that we watch closely.”