Team Europe regained the throne of the Laver Cup after Carlos Alcaraz clinched a 6-2, 7-5 win against Taylor Fritz in the final match of the 2024 edition. In the process, the Spaniard has broken a record that not even Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic were able to achieve in the competition.
Alcaraz, in his first appearance in the tournament, managed eight points for Team Europe becoming the player with most points earned for his team in a single edition of the Laver Cup. He surpassed Federer, who won 7 points in the first edition of the tournament in 2017.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was ruthless, winning his single match against Ben Shelton on Saturday (2 points) and six points on Sunday, after also clinching the doubles win alongside Casper Ruud over Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.
Unsurprisingly, he was named MVP of the tournament, joining Federer (2017 and 2019), Alexander Zverev (2018), Andrey Rublev (2021), Felix Auger-Aliassime (2022), and Frances Tiafoe (2023).
Team Europe celebrates the win (Luciano Lima/Getty Images for Laver Cup)
Before the tournament, Alcaraz said that he wanted to “impress” Federer, who also said that was excited to finally watch the Spaniard play. During the last day of play, Alcaraz doubled down in his admiration for the Swiss, who is co-owner of the Laver Cup.
Alcaraz pays tribute to Roger Federer
While Alcaraz might have been compared to Rafael Nadal due to their shared nationality, Alcaraz has been open about his admiration for Roger Federer, saying that he thinks he plays more like the Swiss.
"In some ways, I try to ... imitate him." @carlosalcaraz taking a leaf out of the Roger Federer playbook. #LaverCup
“He was one of the first tennis players to show that the impossible was possible, and I watched him so many, many times,” he said. “I always try to imitate him a little bit, and I always trying in every practice, and in every match,” Alcaraz explained.
