Carlos Alcaraz produced a dramatic comeback to help Team Europe maintain their advantage over Team World at the Laver Cup in London.
The Spaniard had to save two match points before eventually defeating Taylor Fritz 6-3, 4-6, 13-11 in a tense deciding tie-break at the O2 Arena.
The victory was particularly important for Alcaraz, who was playing his first singles match since losing to Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Fritz, who beat Alcaraz during Team World’s title-winning campaign last year, stayed composed throughout the contest and kept his unforced errors low.
But Alcaraz’s attacking game made the difference as he finished with 42 winners compared with Fritz’s 20.
The crucial moments came late in the deciding tie-break. After facing match point at 8-9, Alcaraz responded with an ace before producing a drop shot to save another opportunity. He then sealed victory when Fritz could not reach another well-placed drop shot.
Team World had earlier made a strong start to Saturday’s action. Alex de Minaur recovered from losing the opening set to defeat Alexander Zverev 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 11-9, while Learner Tien beat Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 2-6, 10-7.
Zverev later returned with Casper Ruud for the doubles and helped Europe defeat Alexander Bublik and Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-6 (9-7).
The result leaves Team Europe leading 7-5 heading into the final day.
Sunday’s matches will carry three points each, with the first team to reach 13 points crowned champions. Europe are seeking a sixth Laver Cup title, while defending champions Team World are targeting their third.
