Mensik & Alcaraz Deliver, Europe Lead 3–1

Jakub Mensik and Carlos Alcaraz launched their doubles partnership with a straight sets sweep 7-6(7), 6-4 over Alex Michelsen and Taylor Fritz on Friday night to give Team Europe a 3-1 lead at Laver Cup San Francisco 2025.

In a tight encounter against the red team, the young Team Europe stars held back a set point to give their side a comfortable lead heading into Day 2 of the competition.

The sole winner for Team World, and the youngest in Laver Cup history to earn a point, was Brazilian Joao Fonseca, who kicked off Friday night with a commanding 6-4, 6-3 victory over his emerging rival, Italian Flavio Cobolli.

The win came as a welcome boost for Captain Andre Agassi and his Team World squad, who were coming off early setbacks after Casper Ruud outlasted Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-6(4) and Jakub Mensik edged past Alex Michelsen 6-1, 6-7(3), 10-8.

With the likes of Bill Gates and Golden State Warriors players looking on, both teams executed angled volleys, powerful overheads and deft touch in the last match of the night. “I think it gives you more opportunities,” Alcaraz said about doubles providing chances for highlights. “But that was not just about one player, it was a team with a great player in Jakub. He had great skills in the points and made me comfortable on the court.”

Despite not serving an ace all match, Team Europe still won 88% of first serves and outpaced Team World 38-24 in the winner department.

The first set was destined for a tiebreaker, with the lone break point coming against Michelsen’s serve at 5-5. Holding firm, the players rolled into a tiebreak where Alcaraz hit a pair of highlight-reel shots to take a 3-1 lead. Fritz had a set point on his racket at 6-5  but sent a volley into the net. Mensik eventually turned an 8-8 tie into a volley winner followed by an unplayable return to finish the 63-minute set.

“In doubles anything can happen,” Alcaraz said about the back-and-forth tiebreaker. “It was lucky, it was really close. I think we missed some shots that were really close to the line. It was a great tiebreaker with great points. It was great we saved the set point down.”

The second set followed suit, with each team holding easily (a stunning Fritz tweener excited the crowd and helped Team World stay on serve at 4-4) until the first break point of the set also acted as the first match point for Team Europe. After Mensik held to take a 5-4 lead, he had a pair of winners to help set up the break and match victory.

Mensik, a two-time winner on Day 1 on his debut,  said was pleased with with his performance in both singles and doubles. “With Carlos, I think we were playing really well and completing each other,” Mensik said. “I am really happy I brought to the team two points today.”