Alexander Zverev lived up to his ‘best player in the world’ tag to secure Laver Cup success for Team Europe in London and give rival Carlos Alcaraz the day off.
Zverev had been talked up by Alcaraz after recent French Open and US Open wins before this Ryder Cup-style event at The O2, but the German lost in the doubles on Friday and let slip multiple match points against Alex De Minaur on Saturday.
Alcaraz wrestled back the initiative at the end of day two before Zverev teamed up with Casper Ruud to triumph in the doubles and leave Team Europe only two victories from glory ahead of Sunday’s session.
Flavio Cobolli and Jakub Mensik moved Team Europe a step closer by beating key Team World duo Taylor Fritz and De Minaur in the doubles, which opened the door for Zverev to bring a run of three defeats in four editions for Team Europe to an end.
Zverev struggled against Laver Cup rookie Learner Tien, although did have the insurance policy of team-mate Alcaraz up next if required, but the two-time major winner secured a 7-6 (3) 6-3 victory to help Team Europe prevail by a 13-5 score in front of tournament co-founder Roger Federer.
