Carlos Alcaraz cements superstar status at Laver Cup with dramatic win, equals Federer's record
On Saturday, September 26, in London, Carlos Alcaraz edged past Taylor Fritz in a tense Laver Cup match, matching Roger Federer's all-time points record for the event, while a BBC poll this week found that every player asked named Alcaraz as the tennis idol they'd have had a poster of as a child.
A tight battle with two match points saved in the breaker
Team Europe's leader Carlos Alcaraz (23, world No. 3) beat American Taylor Fritz (28, closing out the ATP top 10) 6-3, 4-6 at London's O2 Arena on Saturday, in a match lasting around two and a half hours. Sources differ on the deciding-set score: Murcia Plaza reports a 13-11 match tiebreak, while MARCA gives it as 12-10. Both agree the finish was extremely tight — MARCA notes Alcaraz saved two match points, at 9-10 and 10-11, before closing it out with one of his signature drop shots.
Alcaraz had already helped Europe on Friday with a doubles win alongside Czech player Jakub Mensik over Fritz and Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik (6-4, 6-4). Right before his singles match, Team Europe had dropped four points, with Italy's Flavio Cobolli losing to American Learner Tien (3-6, 6-2, 7-10) and Germany's Alexander Zverev falling to Australia's Alex de Miñaur (6-2, 6-7, 9-11). Alcaraz's win leveled the overall score at 5-5.
Matching Federer's record
The victory brought Alcaraz to 18 career points won at the Laver Cup, equaling Roger Federer, who — as the event's owner — watched the match from the stands. Federer reached that mark over 12 matches (eight wins, four losses, all in doubles), while Alcaraz got there in just ten matches, winning eight. Still ahead of him on the all-time list are Alexander Zverev with 21 points and Jack Sock with 20.
A unanimous choice among peers
According to Puntodebreak, the BBC ran a light-hearted poll in London this week, asking players including Casper Ruud, Zverev, Tien, Cobolli, Fritz and Fery, as well as legends John McEnroe and Andy Roddick, whose poster they would have hung on their bedroom wall at age 10. Every single one named Carlos Alcaraz — not even current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner got a mention, underlining the gap in star power between the two. Alcaraz himself struggled to answer, eventually picking Novak Djokovic, saying he would choose him for as long as Djokovic keeps playing.
Zverev lets Alcaraz in on a US Open secret
Another notable moment surfaced during the tournament: Zverev told teammate Alcaraz what was going through his mind while serving for the US Open title earlier this month — by his own admission, nothing at all. He recalled thinking the score was 5-1 rather than 5-2. Alcaraz, who was watching from home after his own quarter-final exit, said he couldn't understand what was happening on court.
The three-day Laver Cup, with Team Europe captained by Yannick Noah and Team World by Andre Agassi, concludes Sunday in London, with Europe looking to reclaim the trophy after last year's loss in San Francisco. Alcaraz still has one more match to play in the event.
