The opening day of the Laver Cup in San Francisco will see Carlos Alcaraz team up with Jakub Mensik for a doubles match.
The newly re-crowned world No. 1 is back on top of the tennis world after a thrilling win at the US Open earlier this month, where he recorded a comprehensive win against his big rival Jannik Sinner in a compelling final in New York.
Alcaraz headed back to Spain after that success, but he is back in America now to take part in the Laver Cup for a second time, with his opening assignment coming as he lines up alongside reigning Miami Open champion Mensik for a doubles showdown against the American duo of Taylor Fritz and Alex Michelsen.
It will be the second match of the night session and the final contest on day one of a Laver Cup that is causing a hugely positive stir in tennis as it returns for its eighth edition.
Initial scepticism over what is essentially an exhibition team event has been replaced by real enthusiasm for a weekend that celebrates all that is great in our sport and Alcaraz is relishing the chance to play more Laver Cup tennis after he starred for Team Europe in Berlin last year.
“The energy that I got there was crazy to be honest,” said Alcaraz, as he looked back on his Laver Cup debut a year ago.
“Having the opportunity to play a team event with the players that I used to fight against, for me was great. I just enjoyed, I think I got different energy to refresh my mind, my batteries just to come in even stronger for the next event.
“It was weird. My rivals, one week ago I was fighting against them on the tennis court, and now they were my teammates. But I loved it. I loved the energy, the atmosphere. We’re all together just to try to bring the Cup to Europe. To get to know them off the court, as well, was a great experience for me. I couldn’t miss it this year.
“It was really a special moment celebrating the Laver Cup with all of my teammates, holding the trophy, [celebrating] with the fans,” he said, recalling the euphoria in Berlin, where the crowd was expectedly behind Team Europe and enthralled by his performance during the final match on Sunday, which clinched victory for the men in blue.
“This time it’s going to be different. I’m excited about getting that experience again so I will try to lift the trophy at the end and celebrate with my teammates again.”
The presence of Andre Agassi as the new Team World captain, replacing John McEnroe, adds to the star power at this year’s Laver Cup, with the tennis legend among those pouring praise on Alcaraz after he claimed his sixth Grand Slam title at the age of just 22 at the US Open.
“We’ve come off a generation with Novak, Roger and Rafa, and if you take the best of what each of them do, it’s like it’s turned into one person,” said Agassi of Alcaraz.
“He can defend like Novak. He has soft hands and feel like Federer, and he can generate RPMs and pace like Rafa. And you’ve got the speed – offensively and defensively. You’ve got the passion that keeps him fired up the whole time. He kind of has the whole package. The thing you have to hope for is that he gets too creative out there. You hope he crosses that line every now and then to give you some hope.”
Friday’s Laver Cup matches
Casper Ruud (EUROPE) v Reilly Opelka (WORLD)
Jakub Mensik (EUROPE) v Alex Michelsen (WORLD)
Flavio Cobilli (EUROPE) v Joao Fonseca (WORLD)
Carlos Alcaraz/Jakub Mensik (EUROPE) v Taylor Fritz/Alex Michelsen (WORLD)
