Laver Cup 2025: Taylor Fritz finishes off stunning upset for Team World in dramatic fashion
Laver Cup 2025: Taylor Fritz finishes off stunning upset for Team World in dramatic fashion originally appeared on The Sporting News
SAN FRANCISCO – Taylor Fritz hit his backhand volley out of the reach of Alexander Zverev, spun toward his bench, dropped his racquet and waited for the swarm from his Team World teammates. After over seven and a half hours of competition Sunday, the Laver Cup was headed to Team World 15-9.
Fritz was on the other side of that moment last year, losing the final winner-take-all match in Berlin to Carlos Alcaraz. But the California kid who took down Alcaraz on an electric Saturday night at the Chase Center, finished the deal with another strong performance with everything on the line.
“(With teammates on the bench), the moments feel so much better when you do well, and losing feels so much worse,” Fritz said on court after he was mobbed by his teammates in red. “I've always felt I play my best tennis in team environments.”
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When Alcarez pulled Team Europe to within 12-9 after the third match Sunday, he was asked on court what the key would be for Zverev to force a tie-breaking doubles set.
“Hopefully Taylor Fritz does not play like he did last night,” he said, and then issued an ominous proclamation about his availability if it did come down to a winner-take-all doubles tiebreaker.
“If my team needs me, I’ll be there of course,” Alcaraz said.
Fritz made sure he never got the chance.
Fritz broke out of the gate early, his runway model hair on fire in the early going. He jumped up 3-0 thanks to some rocket groundstrokes, and rode his break advantage throughout the first set. Fritz was not threatened on his serve, and forced Zverev to work for his holds.
“Taylor has a big game,” Zverev said. “When he’s on, he’s on. He can compete with anybody.”
Fritz went up a break in the second set as well and led 4-2, but Zverev would not go away and played his best tennis of the weekend. He broke back and held a 6-5 lead before Fritz forced a tiebreaker.
The breaker was tense, and featured incredible shot-making by both players. A building that had seen 7.5 hours of competition already was still 75 percent full and roaring. Fritz led 5-4 and had two serves to close it out, and close it out he did.
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After beating the World No. 1 the dominating way Fritz did and then playing another big match the next day can go one of two ways. There can be a letdown, or there can be a carry-over and new-found swagger. When Team World set its lineup for Sunday, Fritz wanted to be in the do-or-die, final slot.
“When it comes down to it, I have to perform,” he said. "And it's a matchup I feel somewhat comfortable in. No matter what, I was just going to compete as hard as I could for the team and do everything I could."
And let’s not forget Andre Agassi’s role. If you lined up the six players from each team and matched them up highest-ranked to highest ranked, second-highest to second-highest, etc., Team Europe had the advantage at all six lines. It was evident being around the teams and talking with the participants, Agassi took the preparation very seriously, and was looking for the margins to give his team any edge. Team Europe coach Yannick Noah had a more laid-back vibe, partly because that’s his personality and partly because he had better players.
But the better players did not win. Agassi kept calling his players warriors, wanting them to play well in the Warriors building. Five of the six recorded victories, with Alex de Minaur being a part of three winning matches.
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Fritz won just two, but they were the big ones. Upsetting Alcaraz truly shifted the momentum to Team World, and then he closed it out against Zrevev, who has struggled a bit to find his top form the last few months. He has had two injections in his back since the US Open, but he says it is holding up for now and he was healthy for the event.
The biggest victory early in Fritz's career came when he beat Rafael Nadal in his home state at the final of Indian Wells. Now he owns a win over the World No. 1 and a clinching Laver Cup victory also in the Golden State.
Alcaraz came in as the event's No. 1 star, and Agassi gave the event a jolt of energy. But it was Fritz who was able to secure the biggest matches and ultimately lock down the win.
"I'm very proud of these guys," Agassi said. "A lot of people would have said they didn't see a road to pulling this off, but we shocked the world, and we only did it because of them."
