Laver Cup: Carlos Alcaraz saves match points as Team Europe take lead

Carlos Alcaraz prevented back-to-back singles defeats for the first time in 18 months as Team Europe took a 7-5 lead over Team World at the Laver Cup. The world No. 3 saved two match points before beating Taylor Fritz 6-3, 4-6, 13-11 in a deciding tie-break at London’s O2 Arena. It was Alcaraz’s first singles appearance since his late-night US Open quarter-final loss to Ben Shelton. He cited the drop shot as a key weapon and finished with 42 winners to Fritz’s 20. Fritz kept errors low despite facing match point at 8-9 in the tiebreak. Earlier, Alex de Minaur rallied from a set down to defeat Alexander Zverev 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 11-9, while Learner Tien edged Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 2-6, 10-7. Zverev and Casper Ruud then secured doubles victory 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) to keep Europe ahead entering the final day.