First win over Alcaraz, the 3 points that sealed victory: Fritz rejuvenated by a blockbuster Laver Cup weekend
Taylor Fritz defeated Alcaraz and then Zverev in San Francisco to deliver victory for Team World at the Laver Cup.
Taylor Fritz, Laver Cup 2025 – © Getty Images
The key architect of Team World’s victory at the 2025 Laver Cup is Taylor Fritz. Under pressure after Team Europe’s resurgence on the final day, when points count triple, the American player dashed Yannick Noah’s men’s hopes by securing a crucial win over Alexander Zverev (6-3, 7-6).
This marks Fritz’s ninth victory against the German player and his sixth consecutive win on the ATP Tour. The Californian has become a nightmare for the world No. 3, managing to get into his head over the past few matches. On Sunday, Fritz hit 27 winners compared to 19 for his opponent and took advantage of Zverev winning only 38% of points on his second serve, striking where it hurt most.
Extremely aggressive this weekend in San Francisco, Taylor Fritz particularly impressed at the net, an area where he hasn’t always felt comfortable. He won 16 out of 20 net approaches against Carlos Alcaraz and finished the match 20/23 at the net against Alexander Zverev. Symbolic of this success, the American clinched the winning point for Team World with a cross-court backhand volley.
“I’ve always thought that coming to the net is sucks, to be honest with you,” Fritz said with a smile in the press conference. “This week, I managed to make it work, and I think it’s mainly because I was a bit more aggressive from the baseline. That makes the volleys a bit easier.”
“I don’t know what happened on that match point, because normally, that would be a really, really tense volley for me, but for some reason, I was just calm playing it. Maybe it’s just being here, in this context.”
Backed by the Californian crowd, his captain Andre Agassi, a living tennis legend, and his team, Taylor Fritz managed to outperform himself this weekend in San Francisco. After a mixed summer without any titles, and a quarterfinal exit at the US Open against Novak Djokovic, his eleventh loss in as many matches against the Serb, he regained his top form.
Two Top 3 victories in the same tournament? A first for Fritz
“Just seeing those guys on the bench getting excited, seeing a sports legend like Andre leap out of his seat to cheer me on, it’s impossible not to be pumped and give it everything,” the American said at the press conference.
In San Francisco, he defeated a world No. 1 for the first time in his career and claimed his first-ever victory over Carlos Alcaraz, convincingly (6-3, 6-2). It is also the first time Fritz has beaten two Top 3 players (Alcaraz and Zverev) in the same tournament.
At the Laver Cup, the Californian proved to himself that he could deliver big performances against the world’s best players. Next step? Confirm it on the ATP Tour, without a teammate, without a captain on the bench, and without a crowd fully on his side. Taylor Fritz will be under the spotlight.
