American duo Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton secured a victory over Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in doubles, leveling the Laver Cup standings at 2-2 after the opening day on Friday.
Alcaraz and Zverev, who faced each other in the French Open final just three months ago, had a chance to take a 5-4 lead in the second set, but they were unable to convert, allowing Fritz and Shelton to close out the match with a score of 7-6 (5), 6-4.
In the first match of the day, Team World got off to a strong start when Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud with a score of 6-4, 6-4. Ruud, currently ranked No. 9, struggled with his performance, tallying 20 unforced errors compared to just 11 winners. This victory improved Cerundolo’s head-to-head record against Ruud to 4-3.
Stefanos Tsitsipas brought Team Europe back into contention by defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4. Kokkinakis had previously eliminated Tsitsipas at the U.S. Open, but Tsitsipas looked much more at ease in the indoor setting.
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov followed with a hard-fought win over Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, clinching the match 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) after a contest lasting more than two hours.
The scoring system awards one point for each match win on Friday, two points on Saturday, and three points on Sunday, with the first team to reach 13 points declared the winner. The tournament is set to conclude on Sunday.
In related news, the Laver Cup and the ATP Tour announced a five-year extension to their existing partnership earlier on Friday.