American duo Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton narrowly defeated Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in doubles, tying the Laver Cup after the first day on Friday.
Alcaraz and Zverev, who played against each other in the French Open final three months ago, had a chance to take a 5-4 lead in the second set but lost the point and the game. Fritz and Shelton then served to win 7-6 (5), 6-4.
This left Team Europe and Team World tied at 2-2, with two more days of competition ahead, similar to the format of golf’s Ryder Cup.
Team World started strong when Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4. Ruud, ranked No. 9, made 20 unforced errors and only 11 winners, while Cerundolo improved his record against Ruud to 4-3.
Stefanos Tsitsipas brought Team Europe back to even by beating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4. Kokkinakis had previously eliminated Tsitsipas at the U.S. Open, but Tsitsipas played much better in this indoor match.
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov then won against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) after more than two hours of play.
Each match win is worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday, and three points on Sunday. The first team to reach 13 points wins, with the tournament concluding on Sunday.
Earlier on Friday, the Laver Cup and the ATP tour announced a five-year extension to their current agreement.
