SEPT 20 - 22, 2024 | BERLIN
Carlos Alcaraz hauled Team Europe back on level terms at Laver Cup 2024, with a clinical 6-4, 6-4 win over Ben Shelton.
With the visitors 4-2 up after Team World’s Frances Tiafoe had come back from a set down to beat Daniil Medvedev on a 10-5 match tiebreak, the pressure was on Alcaraz against the big-hitting American. But the Spaniard came through a festival of blistering hitting to win in an hour and 43 minutes.
Alcaraz, this year’s Roland-Garros and Wimbledon champion, was particularly sharp in the crucial moments, saving all five break points he faced and breaking Shelton’s big left-handed serve once in each set. They are the first sets Shelton has lost at Laver Cup in what was his fifth match in the competition.
If Alcaraz was feeling any pressure, he didn’t show it. His movement was superb, and once he got a read of the Shelton serve, he took away the American’s biggest weapon. Shelton served just two aces in the entire match and faced 11 break points, nine of which he saved, but the two he didn’t were the difference on the day.
Shelton paid tribute to Alcaraz’s all-round game. “One of the things about the top guys is that, the better you play and the better you hit the ball, they actually hit the ball better as well. With Carlos, he’s a great offensive player, he can counterpunch, he has a lot of weapons, and his footwork is a weapon as well. There were plenty of times today I felt I was in control of the point, and he either angled one past me or lobbed over my head.”
Alcaraz said the return was crucial. “I tried to get in as many returns as possible so I could play long rallies. Playing against him you never know which serve he’s going to give you. It could be a 230 [km/h] or a 190 slice or a kick, it’s a really unpredictable serve, and he can hit a second serve at 220. His serve is crazy. I tried to get as many in as I can, because I knew I would have my chances, especially if he missed a couple of first serves and I could be aggressive with the second.”
Shelton came out serve-and-volleying from the first point, but soon abandoned the strategy when it became clear Alcaraz was not going to chip the return the way he had on their only previous meeting in Toronto last year. Both players showed their ability to be inventive when caught in uncomfortable situations, and the result was several points that had the crowd purring.
After four service holds, there followed five games all containing break points. Shelton had to save two in the fifth game, Alcaraz three in the sixth. Shelton saved five more in a marathon seventh game, one with his fastest serve of the day at 228 km/h. That game provided some of the best tennis of the match, Alcaraz exhorting the crowd to make more noise after he ran down a drop shot to hit a winning slice down the line. On the sixth break point, a mis-hit Alcaraz return floated onto the Shelton backhand, and with no power to play off the American dumped it into the net for the first break.
Shelton saved two set points at 3-5, one of them with a perfect lob, before Alcaraz served out at love to take the set in 62 minutes.
By this stage Alcaraz was really reading the Shelton serve, and broke in the opening game as the American’s energy dipped and his groundstrokes became a little ragged. Alcaraz saved a break point in the following game, but that proved the final break chance of the match, as the remaining games went with serve.
A disappointed Shelton said the match showed he’s “not a complete player yet”. “It’s frustrating that I’m not there yet,” he said, “but I like working hard, and hopefully I’ll make a few better decisions if I play tomorrow.” Before Sunday, Shelton takes to the court in Saturday’s doubles, partnering Alejandro Tabilo against Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The win was Alcaraz’s first victory at Laver Cup after he lost in Friday’s doubles. Asked whether he felt more pressure in the team format, he said, “There is more pressure playing for your teammates rather than just for yourself, but there is also more support. It was great having Grigor giving me advice, and Stefanos too.
“Having Bjorn in the bench as well, it is a great support for me. Normally I watch my team, you know, after every point. Here I’m looking at my partners and Bjorn more than my team. So it is a different feeling … So I’m gonna take this experience for a long time, and I honestly learn a lot from them, as well.”
The result leaves the overall score 4-4 going into the Saturday night session, where four more points are at stake. The first team to 13 points wins the trophy.
