Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton Power Team World to Laver Cup 2024 Victory Over Alcaraz and Zverev
Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton led Team World to a vital 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in Berlin, bringing the Laver Cup standings even at 2-2 at the close of Day 1 with an incredible show of collaboration and resiliency.
After both teams scored two points on Friday in Berlin, neither Laver Cup team will have the upper hand going into Day 2.
In the day’s last match, German No. 1 Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz were denied a winning tournament debut by Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. At Uber Arena, Fritz and Shelton prevailed 7-6 (5), 6-4 to level the score between Team World and Team Europe at 2-2.
“Under duress, both of us served incredibly well. Ben did a fantastic job serving. Fritz said to Andrea Petkovic on the court, “It was great that I didn’t have to hit any volleys.”
Playing alongside a player who is as mobile as Taylor is at the moment makes things very easy. Very light-footed, Shelton continued.
After pushing Zverev while he was the net man and taking a 5-2 lead, things got tricky for Team World. A game later, Fritz stepped to the line in an attempt to finish the set, but Shelton’s unsteady play and the US Open finalist’s deficiency in first serves created a window of opportunity for the opponent. Zverev won the break with an inside-out forehand return winner, setting up a tie-break.
Zverev made two misjudgments that cost Team Europe the lead: he misjudged Fritz’s backhand stab lob on the first point, which allowed the Americans to reset the point, and he misjudged the direction of a rally crosscourt. And to seize the lead after one set, Fritz and Shelton safeguarded their advantage this time.
Alcaraz and Zverev faced the Fritz serve four times in the second set’s fourth game, with four opportunities to take a 3-1 lead. No tandem saw another break point until 4–4, and none were converted. Shelton used a deep forehand winner to divide Zverev on the baseline and Alcaraz at the net during a protracted rally.
After that, the lefty bounced back from the first double fault of the match to hold in the decisive game from 15 to 30.
“We had a great time. We’ve never performed together before, but I felt like we had a really decent vibe,” Shelton remarked. “It’s unfortunate that we can’t play together here again, but hopefully you’ll see us somewhere on the doubles court soon.”
Does his partner share his thoughts? That seems to be the case.
“We’ll test it out a little more and definitely have some tournaments later on.” If things continue to go well, perhaps you’ll see us at the Davis Cup.
Grigor Dimitrov of Team Europe had previously started the evening session with a fierce victory over Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2). The Bulgarian battled through an injury that resembled the issue that hindered his US Open attempt, but he still managed to cross the finish line and preserve three set points in the second set.
