Top 5 moments from Laver Cup 2024 ft. Roger Federer adorably fixing Carlos Alcaraz's bowtie & Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton's witty mind game strategy
The 2024 Laver Cup is over, and for the fifth time in the team tennis tournament's history, Team Europe are the champions. This was their first title since 2021 thanks to some heroics from Carlos Alcaraz in Berlin's Uber Arena.
Team World led 8-4 heading into the tournament's final day and were just five points away from a third successive title. Alcaraz and Zverev won their doubles fixture against Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe. Shelton put Team World just two points shy of the title after beating Daniil Medvedev before Zverev beat Tiafoe.
Carlos Alcaraz won the last match of the tournament against Taylor Fritz to seal victory for Team Europe.
This year's edition of the Laver Cup also produced plenty of memorable moments both on and off the court.
From Roger Federer making sure that Carlos Alcaraz's Opening Night look is spot on to Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton bringing their entertaining chemistry to the fore; here are the top five moments from the 2024 Laver Cup.
1. Roger Federer helping Carlos Alcaraz before Spaniard's Laver Cup Opening Night appearance
The Laver Cup Opening Night is a gala affair, as the respective teams come together for a formal evening. This year's Laver Cup's Opening Night was no different, with Team Europe and Team World joined by the tournament's co-founder Roger Federer, future team captains Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi, and several other stars from the world of tennis and beyond.
Reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz made his Laver Cup debut this time around, and he had Federer's help before he made his Opening Night appearance. The now-retired 20-time Major champion adorably helped the Spaniard fix his bowtie.
Later, Federer also turned up at the Uber Arena in Berlin to watch Alcaraz in live action first-hand for the first time. While the Spaniard's on-court Laver Cup debut was a loss in doubles alongside Alexander Zverev to Team World's Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, he would eventually prove decisive in deciding the tournament's outcome.
2. Carlos Alcaraz delivering when it mattered most to make Team Europe Laver Cup champions once more
The final match of the 2024 Laver Cup saw Carlos Alcaraz facing off against US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz. Ahead of the contest, Team Europe was trailing 10-11, which meant all the pressure to deliver for the European contingent was on Alcaraz.
However, the Spaniard did brilliantly to rise up to the challenge, and took only 90 minutes to brush Fritz aside 6-2, 7-5. The win marked Team Europe's return to Laver Cup supremacy. The last time the European contingent won the event was in 2021.
3. Taylor Fritz being 'fired up' by John McEnroe's presence on Team World bench
Taylor Fritz's clash against Alexander Zverev on the second day was an eagerly awaited matchup. Fritz had come out on top against the German on both of their last two meetings across this year's Wimbledon Championships and US Open.
Their latest contest went the American's way as well, as he registered a 6-4, 7-5 win over Zverev. In his post-match on-court interview, Fritz said that for him, simply seeing John McEnroe, the Team World captain, rooting for him courtside is enough to give him the motivation to perform at his best.
"John's great on the bench just keeping me fired up. I mean how can you not look at Johnny Mac on the bench and just get super fired up to play? So, he's great at just kind of keeping me in it," Fritz said.
Unfortunately though, McEnroe couldn't inspire the 2024 US Open finalist to a win against Carlos Alcaraz in the title-deciding matchup on the third day.
4. Grigor Dimitrov and Carlos Alcaraz teaming up to coach Casper Ruud
Three-time Major finalist Casper Ruud kicked things off at the team tennis event as he faced Francisco Cerundolo in the tournament's first match. However, the significantly higher-ranked Ruud (World No. 9) struggled against the No. 31-ranked Cerundolo.
During a changeover, concerned teammates Grigor Dimitrov and Carlos Alcaraz coached the Norwegian in a bid to help him improve his performance.
However, Ruud ultimately lost the match 4-6, 4-6, which of course, proved of little consequence in the end.
5. Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton agreeing to hilarious mind game strategy to unsettle Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz's Laver Cup singles debut came against Ben Shelton on the second day of the event. While it is Shelton whose serve is considered to be more lethal, on that day, it was the Spaniard who made the most of his service games.
Unable to find solutions, Shelton suggested to Frances Tiafoe during a changeover that he would tell Alcaraz about how Roger Federer would be proud of the Spaniard. According to the 2023 US Open semifinalist, this could somehow break Alcaraz's momentum. Tiafoe hilariously agreed to it.
Ultimately though, the mind games failed to turn things around in Shelton's favor, as Alcaraz ended his singles debut at the team tennis tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 win.