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 in 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 his fifth match in the competition.

The result leaves the overall score 4-4 going into the Saturday night session, where four more points are at stake in the Zverev v Fritz singles and the Ruud/Tsitsipas v Shelton/Tabilo doubles. The first team to 13 wins the Laver Cup.

Full match report to follow.