Laver Cup Day Three: Alcaraz & Ruud score key doubles win, but De Minaur puts Team World on the brink of victory

Alex de Minaur puts Team World on the brink of victory after defeating Jakub Mensik in the first singles match of the day at the Laver Cup. The Australian overcame a tough battle against the Czech and showcased his favorite status to win 6-3, 6-4, leaving Team World just one point away from triumph.

In the first match of the evening, Team Europe had recovered hope after the doubles victory of Carlos Alcaraz alongside Casper Ruud against Reilly Opelka and Alex Michelsen with a score of 7-6, 6-1.

The series awards one point for a win on the first day, two points on the second day, and three points on this decisive third day. After the second day—in which World secured four wins in a row—they had a comfortable 9-3 lead. Although the Europeans cut the deficit with Alcaraz and Ruud's victory in the first match this Sunday, De Minaur's triumph almost seals the victory.

Team World leads 12-6 so far, with two singles matches still remaining in the evening session. Carlos Alcaraz will face Francisco Cerundolo, and if he wins, the final match will be between Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz. If Alcaraz and Zverev both win, they will tie the series, and a decisive doubles match will be played to close the tournament.

It was a key match for both teams, especially for the Europeans who came in with a 9-3 disadvantage and needed to start with a victory to stay alive. From the first set, the European duo looked closer to getting the break, putting both Michelsen and Opelka in trouble on their serves. However, the Americans managed to stay without a break against them.

Between them, Opelka and Michelsen managed to save eight break points throughout the set, but they failed to threaten Alcaraz or Ruud's service even once. Everything came down to a tie-break, where Team World took a 4-1 lead, but then lost momentum, and Alcaraz/Ruud took the last six points consecutively to close the set 7-6(4).

In the second set, things got easier for the Europeans, who had an inspired Alcaraz frequently coming to the net to close out points and a strong Ruud from the back of the court. Team Europe got two consecutive breaks and advanced to a comfortable 5-0 lead before closing out the victory 7-6(4), 6-1, giving three points to the Europeans and leaving the series at 6-9.

Alex de Minaur came onto the court with the responsibility of winning for his team, considering he was the favorite against world No. 17 Jakub Mensik. The Australian was dominant on his serve—just as he was in his victory a day earlier against Alexander Zverev—and only conceded a handful of points with his serve. The Australian had his first opportunities in the 6th game and took the lead, then closed out the first set 6-3 with his serve.

In the second set, it was Mensik who was against the ropes and fighting to hold his serve. The great effectiveness of his first serve contrasted with the handful of points he managed with his second serve—only 17% in the first set and 35% in the second. It was like this when De Minaur once again showed his dominance in the important moments, getting his opportunity in the 7th game and taking the lead.

The Australian had some trouble closing out the victory when he was serving at 5-4 and faced a 0-40 deficit, his first break points against him in the match. However, it was not enough for Mensik to make a comeback, and De Minaur ended up closing out a notable victory 6-3, 6-4, giving three points to Team World and a 12-6 lead.