Doubling Down: Cobolli/Mensik Pad Team Europe Lead

The Italian-Czech tandem of Flavio Cobolli and Jakub Mensik put Team Europe within a match of the title on Day 3 at Laver Cup 2026 thanks to a 7-5, 6-3 defeat of Team World’s Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur at The O2.

Now ahead, 10-5, captain Yannick Noah and Team Europe could clinch this first-to-13 competition when Alexander Zverev takes the court against Learner Tien in singles.

“It’s my third year coming to Laver Cup and I had never won a match, so I’m really happy,” said Cobolli, who fell to Team World’s Learner Tien in singles on Day 2, 6-3, 2-6, 10-7. “I love to play, especially with one of my best friends on the tour. I’m really happy. I cannot speak. I’m not a doubles specialist. I almost hate doubles during the year, but this is one of the best performances ever for me.”

“It’s a great feeling,” echoed Mensik, who also prevailed in doubles with Carlos Alcaraz on Day 1. “It’s a great start for us. We didn’t start well, especially me on the serve. I struggled to find my rhythm. The first few games, we were the worst ones on the court. Then we got into it and started to feel more comfortable. For me in doubles, the more I play, I’m getting better.”

Both Fritz and De Minaur could retake the court on Sunday should Team Europe fail to close it out against the Laver Cup debutant Tien.

Speaking of the decision to play Cobolli and Mensik on Day 3, Team Europe vice-captain Tim Henman noted that it was important to rest one of the team’s strongest players, Carlos Alcaraz, for a second singles match, should that be required on Sunday. Alcaraz won Friday’s doubles partnering with Mensik and overcame Fritz in a tight one-hour, 20-minute nail-biter on Saturday night.

“We’ve had, you know, a really busy last five or six days,” said Henman.  “You take into account the physical nature of the surface and how demanding the matches are. I think certainly for Carlos, having not played a lot of tennis in the last five months with just one tournament, he’s feeling it in his body, so to prioritize the singles for him.

“With Flavio and Jakub ready to go, it was a good combination. I think with Fritz and De Minaur having to play singles as well, we would have been happy to keep them out there as long as possible.”