Carlos Alcaraz Leads Team Europe to Early Laver Cup Advantage; Mensik Shines

World number one Carlos Alcaraz and Czech partner Jakub Mensik secured a doubles victory against Team World's Taylor Fritz and Alex Michelsen at the Laver Cup in San Francisco on Friday, extending Team Europe's lead to 3-1 on the opening day of the global tennis event at the Chase Center.Alcaraz and Mensik defeated the American duo 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 in the day's final match, following Mensik's earlier singles success against Michelsen with a score of 6-1, 6-7 (3/7) 10-8.Mensik faced a challenge when he was broken while serving for the match in the second set's ninth game but managed to secure victory in the match tiebreaker after losing the second-set tiebreaker."It's always tough for your nerves but I'm happy that I stay focused to the end," said Mensik, 20.Norway's Casper Ruud started the day with Europe's first point, defeating American Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).
"I was in the same position last year and lost the opening match so it's good to get some revenge and begin strong for Europe," Ruud said.Team World earned their sole point through Laver Cup newcomer Joao Fonseca, who overcame Europe's Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 6-3, supported by enthusiastic Brazilian fans."I tried to stay positive during the match. I was a little bit more nervous than usual, which is normal," said Fonseca, who claimed his first ATP title in Buenos Aires this year.The competition has undergone leadership changes since Alcaraz led Europe to victory in Berlin last year, with Yannick Noah replacing Bjorn Borg as Team Europe's captain and Andre Agassi taking over from John McEnroe for Team World.Europe has dominated the event, winning five of the first seven editions, though Team World prevailed in Vancouver in 2023, the last time the Roger Federer co-created competition was held in North America.The tournament's scoring system awards one point per match on Friday, two points on Saturday, and three points on Sunday.Saturday's schedule features three singles matches and one doubles match, while Sunday begins with doubles followed by three singles matches. The first team to reach 13 points will claim the Laver Cup trophy.Laver Cup Results on Day 1:Match 1: Casper Ruud beat Reily Opelka 6-4, 7-6Match 2: Jakub Mensik beat Alex Michelsen 6-1, 6-7, 10-8Match 3: Joao Fonseca beat Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 6-3Match 4: Carlos Alcaraz/Mensik beat Taylor Fritz/Michelsen 7-6, 6-4