Team Europe made a winning start to their Laver Cup campaign as Carlos Alcaraz and Jakub Mensik handed them a 3-1 lead on the opening day of the tournament. 

Alcaraz teamed up with Mensik to defeat Team World's United States pairing of Taylor Fritz and Alex Michelsen 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 in Friday's final match in San Francisco. 

That doubles triumph was Mensik's second victory of the day, with the Czech having also got the better of Michelsen 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 10-8 in their singles encounter. 

Mensik was broken as he served for the match in the ninth game of the second set, but after losing the tie-break, he regrouped to win the 10-point deciding tie-breaker. 

Casper Rudd had earlier got Team Europe off the mark with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory over big-serving American Reilly Opelka, before Mensik increased their advantage soon after. 

Team World were staring at an almost unrecoverable deficit, with the pressure falling on the young shoulders of Joao Fonseca, who was making his Laver Cup debut. 

However, the Brazilian certainly delivered against Flavio Cobolli, producing a stunning 6-4 6-3 victory to give Team World momentum heading into the doubles. 

But Alcaraz and Mensik extinguished the possibility of the scores being level heading into day two, with the recent US Open champion pleased with his display in the doubles. 

"I think doubles gives you more opportunities to make great shots, great volleys," said Alcaraz. "But doubles is not just about one player.

"You have to team up with a great player like I did with Jakub. Thanks to him, with his great shots and great skills on the volley as well, he made me feel comfortable on the court."

Day 1 ends with a Team Europe lead #LaverCup | @MercedesBenz | @MercedesBenzUSA pic.twitter.com/1kxXM2qbSl

— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 20, 2025

Data Debrief: Writing on the wall for Team World?

Since the start of the Laver Cup in 2017, no team has come back from 3-1 down to win the tournament, and Team World will be praying for a miraculous recovery on day two. 

But Fonseca's display handed his side hope, with the 19-year-old becoming the first teenager to win a match at the Laver Cup since the event's inauguration eight years ago. 

It was a day for youngsters at this edition of the Laver Cup, with Mensik becoming the youngest player to win a singles and doubles match on the same day at the tournament, surpassing Alcaraz on day three last year. 

Indeed, since the rankings were first published in 1973, Mensik (20 years 18 days) is also now the youngest Czech player to claim 10+ wins as an ATP top 20 player, surpassing Ivan Lendl (20 years 38 days).