(Reuters) -Taylor Fritz delivered the decisive blow at the Laver Cup on Sunday by beating Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(4) as Team World completed a 15-9 win over Team Europe to reclaim the men’s team competition title in San Francisco.
The victory marked Team World’s third triumph in the eight editions of the competition following back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023, and sparked jubilant celebrations from captain Andre Agassi’s side at the Chase Center.
“We’re going to have a fun night. We’re definitely popping champagne in the locker room in a few minutes,” Fritz said.
“The energy from the team, … the moments of winning feel so much better and the moments of losing feel so much worse. You’re doing it for all these guys. It fires me up so much. I always feel I play my best tennis in team environments.
“Seeing these guys on the bench getting pumped up, seeing a legend of the sport like Andre jumping out of his seat cheering for me, it’s just impossible not to give everything you have in every point.”
Team World had built a big 9-3 lead after a clean sweep on Saturday, but with wins worth three points on the final day there was still much to play for with four matches scheduled to reach the 13 points needed to prevail.
Carlos Alcaraz teamed up with Norway’s Casper Ruud to open proceedings, earning a 7-6(4) 6-1 win over American pair Alex Michelsen and Reilly Opelka to narrow the gap.
However, Team Europe found themselves on the back foot again when Australia’s Alex De Minaur breezed past 20-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik 6-3 6-4 it make it 12-6 in favour of Team World.
U.S. Open champion Alcaraz kept Team Europe’s hopes alive by dispatching Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-2 6-1, leaving his team just three points adrift of their opponents.
Zverev then had the opportunity to level the scores at 12-12 and force a one-set doubles playoff but the German was unable to get past Fritz.
The 2026 edition of the competition will take place at London’s O2 Arena.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru and Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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