Box office Carlos Alcaraz edges Laver Cup classic with Taylor Fritz dramatics

LONDON — Carlos Alcaraz saved two match points in a scintillating tie-break to beat Taylor Fritz and draw Team Europe level in their quest to regain the Laver Cup.

With Team Europe being on the losing side in Saturday's morning session twice, team captain Yannick Noah turned to his world No.3 for help and boy did he deliver; and then some.

He ultimately avenged his Laver Cup defeat to Fritz last year with a 6-3, 4-6, 13-11 win to make it 5-5 between the two teams all while putting on a show for a packed out stadium.

Any fans lucky enough to get tickets for this year's Laver Cup at London's O2 would have been hoping to catch a glimpse of the seven-time grand slam champion in action. Getting him in the singles and a match up against world No.4 Fritz, too? Well consider yourself winning the jackpot.

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Alcaraz set the tone for this cracker; breaking Fritz in the first game and hitting a lovely lob over the 28-year-old in the second to establish some early dominance.

Fritz soon found his feet and broke back to level the scores 3-3 before Alcaraz achieved break points once again in the seventh; this time a two-handed lob return having scrambled to the baseline to retrieve his opponent's attempted lob a standout highlight.

Fritz continued to find his groove in the second set though; breaking to love in the third game had his team all fired up and unanimously gunning to take down the smiley Spaniard.

In truth, not many of the rallies were overly long, nor were they of the highest standard, but both players were hitting stunning winners into the corners with Alcaraz chipping in with a few of his drop shot specialities. 

Alcaraz broke Fritz's serve three times in the opening set but the American had his serve locked down heading into the decisive match tiebreaker. 

The duly named 'Laver Breaker' was created to deliver a high-stakes 10-point tie break to determine the winner of the third and final set. The likes of tournament creator Roger Federer, who was court side for this one, could not have dreamt of a better tie-break with more drama.

It began with Alcaraz, as he usually does on the big stage, finding another gear when it mattered, saving some of his best shots until last. The deftest of drop shots to take a 5-1 lead had every one of his Team Europe colleagues on their feet.

Sweet, sweet revenge 🔵@carlosalcaraz turns the tables on San Francisco, defeating Fritz 6-3, 4-6, [13-11].#LaverCup #TennisUnrivaled pic.twitter.com/ICH5NrEnLD

A few nerves from Alcaraz crept in and saw him double fault, while some brilliant defensive play from Fritz left it level at 6-6. The pair continued to exchange blows and could hardly be separated as we reached 9-9. Two clear points needed to determine a winner now and a raucous crowd desperate for more. Alcaraz had them in the palm of his hand.

A backhand return into the net from Alcaraz gave Fritz match point but the world No. 3 drilled an ace down the middle to save it. He then incredibly double faulted to give Fritz a second match point on serve for even more drama. Alcaraz then held strong in a long rally to force Fritz into the mistake; 11-11. The crowd could not cope.

Alcaraz brought up his first match point with a trademark flick of the wrist forehand winner down the line. He'd now serve for the match and use his drop shot weapon in the final play to lure Fritz to the net with the American's return hitting the net. 

Cue the loudest scream from the crowd all weekend and jubilant celebrations as a team.

The drama of the Laver Cup delivers once again.