Fritz Stuns Alcaraz, Lifts Team World at Laver Cup – Tennis Now
Taylor Fritz created a mammoth upset on Saturday night, taking down World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz for the first time in his career and giving Team World a major boost at the Laver Cup.
From the coin toss the energy was palpable, as NBA legend Steph Curry joined Roger Federer at center court for a pre-match selfie, with both benches piling in for the shot. The buzz only built from there as Fritz delivered the performance of his Laver Cup life, racing past Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 in just 71 minutes.
It was Fritz’s first career win over Alcaraz and his first victory over a reigning World No.1. The American saved both break points he faced and punished Alcaraz’s serve, breaking three times while dropping just 13 points across his own service games.
“I knew what I had to do before I came out here tonight – the question was just if I was gonna be able to do it,” Fritz said. “Getting out of that first game was huge and then just playing a lot of the big points with conviction. I didn’t second-guess myself. I didn’t play too safe and I played with no fear.”
Captain Andre Agassi was a constant presence on the Team World bench, keeping Fritz fired up throughout the match. “We’ve been talking all day and it’s been an honor to get to play under Andre,” Fritz said. “Both of us really love to just let our thoughts out and talk about the game.”
Alcaraz, who had won 37 of his previous 38 matches dating back to Rome, had no answers for Fritz’s fearless hitting as the American reeled off the last five games of the match to seal a decisive victory and push Team World ahead 7-3.
It was an uncharacteristically poor performance from the Spaniard. He never found his best tennis and was off the mark with his forehand and groundstrokes as the match quickly slipped away.
Fritz’s victory set the stage for Saturday night’s doubles clash, with Holger Rune and Casper Ruud of Team Europe set to face Alex Michelsen and Alex de Minaur of Team World.
