Victory in the last game: Carlos Alcaraz and Zverev bring the Laver Cup to Europe

Carlos Alcaraz has made victory for Europe perfect at the Laver Cup in Berlin. The Spanish Wimbledon winner beat US Open finalist Taylor Fritz 6:2, 7:5 on Sunday evening. Alexander Zverev had previously laid the foundation for the European selection’s success in a highly dramatic thriller.

The world number two, weakened by a cold, recovered from a 2:4 deficit in the second round against Frances Tiafoe and defeated the American 6:7 (5:7), 7:5 and 10:5 after 2:34 hours.

Under the watchful eyes of tennis legends Boris Becker and Roger Federer, team captain Björn Borg’s team celebrated a big party in the sold-out arena with 13,500 fans. After two previous defeats, Zverev was at least able to say goodbye to the German capital with a sense of success.

Zverev’s praise for the audience: “Best atmosphere”

“That was the best atmosphere I have ever played in”enthused the 27-year-old. The Tokyo Olympic champion had lost his opening doubles match with Alcaraz as well as his singles match against Fritz.

Zverev with cold in Berlin

As has happened so often this year, a cold meant that Zverev was unable to perform at his best. The Hamburg native reported that he felt ill and had a fever before the tournament. Zverev has repeatedly struggled with health setbacks this year. He left it open whether he will play the tournaments in Asia as planned. “I don’t know it”said Zverev.

The professionals cannot collect world ranking points at the lucrative Laver Cup. The Italian world number one Jannik Sinner had cancelled his participation, as had the Serbian Novak Djokovic and the Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Critics therefore see the three-day tournament, co-initiated by tennis legend Roger Federer, as a pure show event. Next year the Laver Cup will take place in San Francisco.