Carlos Alcaraz suffers defeat in his Laver Cup debut

Team Europe's Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev lost their doubles match at the Laver Cup on Friday, which happened to be Alcaraz's debut in the tournament.

Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton of Team World won in straight sets, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in Berlin, bringing the overall score in the tie to 2-2.

Fritz and Shelton hit 20 winners against Zverev, the world number two, and Alcaraz, ranked third.



"We both served really well under pressure. Ben served incredibly well, so I didn't have to hit any volleys. That was huge," said Fritz, as quoted by AFP.

Earlier,Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4. Stefanos Tsitsipas then leveled the score for Team Europe by defeating Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4.

Grigor Dimitrov gave Team Europe the lead with a 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) win against Alejandro Tabilo.

Four matches are scheduled for Saturday, including three singles and one doubles match. Team World aims to secure a third consecutive Laver Cup win after victories in London in 2022 and Vancouver last year.

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