Carlos Alcaraz made his Laver Cup debut on Friday, falling in straight sets against Team Europe’s Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz in their doubles match against Team World’s Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz.

In the last match of the first day in Berlin, the US duo won 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, tying the tie overall at 2-2.

Fritz and Shelton defeated world No. 2 Zverev and third-ranked Alcaraz with 20 wins.

“Under duress, both of us served really well. Ben was an excellent server, so I didn’t need to hit many volleys. Playing for the first time since coming in second to Jannik Sinner in the US Open final in New York 12 days before, Fritz stated, “That was huge.”

Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina upset Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 earlier on Friday. Stefanos Tsitsipas then leveled the score for Team Europe by defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia 6-1, 6-4.

Then, Grigor Dimitrov defeated Alejandro Tabilo 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) to put Europe ahead.

On Saturday in Berlin, there will be three additional singles matches and one doubles match.

After winning the Laver Cup in Vancouver last year and London in 2022, Team World is attempting to win the tournament for a third time in a row this year.