SEPT 19 - 21, 2025 | SAN FRANCISCO
Team World pulled even with Team Europe at 3-3 on Saturday afternoon thanks to Alex De Minaur’s clutch 6-1, 6-4 dismissal of Alexander Zverev in a battle of Top-10 performers at the Laver Cup in San Francisco.
It marked only the Aussie’s third win over his German foe in 11 career encounters. All three of those wins have come in team formats, at the ATP Cup, United Cup and, now, Laver Cup.
“I started pretty quickly,” said De Minaur. “I knew it was going to get harder, because he’s a great competitor, he was going to make my life very difficult. But I’m so proud of myself for how I was backing myself.”
“I think today was more about me, to be very honest,” said a disappointed Zverev, who landed 84 percent of his first serves. “I just started off extremely bad. I was 4-0 down within a couple of minutes, so the first set was gone very, very quickly. Then the second set, I was fighting, but I was just not playing well enough, just not doing enough to win this match.”
A six-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, most recently at the US Open, De Minaur got out of the blocks in a hurry on Day 2, sprinting out to a 5-0 advantage with a pair of service breaks in the opening set. A frustrated Zverev would toss his racquet in disgust, but 31 minutes would go by before the 28-year-old was on the scoreboard.
“These guys, they hit the ball so hard and so big. I’ve got to find different ways to hurt them.” — Alex De Minaur
Zverev, who claimed his co-record third tournament title earlier this year on home turf in Munich, found some rhythm in the second set. But his opponent proved relentless. A massive forehand pass would set up a break point at 4-all, and De Minaur made good on the opportunity. A game later Team World and Team Europe were deadlocked at 3-3, sealed with a volley.
The 26-year-old De Minaur showcased his all-court speed in the one-hour, 38-minute contest, winning 16 of 25 net points.
“It’s a part of my game that I’ve definitely unlocked over the last two years,” said De Minaur. “It’s been a crucial part of me getting into the Top 10 and taking that next step in my career. I’ve got to do more of it. These guys, they hit the ball so hard and so big. I’ve got to find different ways to hurt them. That’s part of my game style. I’ve got the ability to use my speed not only to retrieve but also to sneak into the net. The more I do it, the more comfortable I feel, the more points I win, the more dangerous I become.”
The eighth-ranked De Minaur came into the match with an ATP-best 29 hard-court wins on the year, highlighted by his 10th career tour-level title in Washington. He is playing in his second Laver Cup after making his 2022 debut in London, where he defeated Andy Murray to help Team World to its first triumph over Team Europe.
De Minaur says he doesn’t get to wrapped up in the lopsided record against Zverev.
“The thing about head-to-heads is that it happens over the course of a career,” he said. “I believe I’ve been a very different player throughout my career. When I was first starting on the tour and where I am now, I’m completely two different players. So I don’t look into those head-to-heads too much in that sense. I feel like I am capable of bringing this type of tennis and beating these type of players. I’ve just got to show it more often.”
Currently No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Zverev became the first player to make six Laver Cup appearances. He has been part of all five Team Europe victories at this event, including in front of his home crowd in Berlin last year.
De Minaur’s countryman and Team World vice-captain Patrick Rafter said he heard from Team Europe skipper Yannick Noah directly after the match: “He looked at me and goes, ‘This is how you can play tennis.’ You just saw a guy who had the hands and the ability to manipulate the ball in different areas of the court,” said Rafter. “A little bit old-school. We were just sort of shaking our heads going, ‘These guys just don’t get it that there are different ways of making things happen.’ Alex has the ability to do it, and I hope he can transition and use this further in his game.”
