PREVIEW Laver Cup Day Three: Can Alcaraz and Zverev save Europe, or will Team World reclaim the title?

An absolute surprise unfolded on the second day of the Laver Cup, after Team World secured four consecutive victories, overcoming their rivals' favored status and building a significant lead heading into the final day.

Team Europe had a comfortable 3-1 lead after the first day, even without their main stars, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, playing singles. However, with the odds in their favor, they couldn't capitalize on the second day, as Team World secured four consecutive wins and took a commanding 9-3 lead in the series.

It's important to remember that the points are different for each day. The matches on the first day were worth one point, the second day's matches were worth two points, and the third day's will be worth a total of three points each. First team to reach 13 points will be the champion.

With this, there are still three singles matches and one doubles match left to play. Team World needs to win just two of the four matches to claim the title, while Europe needs at least three victories to tie the series. If the points are tied at 12-12 at the end of all matches, a final overtime doubles match will be played as a regular set with ad scoring and a tiebreak as a decider.

Unlike the previous days, Sunday's action will begin with the doubles match, where Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud will team up to keep Team Europe's hopes alive against the American duo of Alex Michelsen and Reilly Opelka.

Czech player Jakub Mensik will have the heavy responsibility of keeping Team Europe in the fight in what could be a decisive match against Alex de Minaur. The preceding doubles match will be key, but if Michelsen/Opelka win, Mensik will be forced to win or the Laver Cup could end in the second match on Sunday. It won't be easy for the 2025 Miami Open champion, who faces world No. 8 Alex de Minaur—who delivered a surprise on Saturday by dominating Zverev.

This will be the third time that de Minaur and Menšík have faced each other; the previous two matches were on indoor hard courts and won by the Australian. However, the Czech has matured significantly since they last played in February of this year and has already had a successful Laver Cup debut, beating Michelsen in singles and teaming up with Alcaraz for a doubles victory. This is a crucial match for the series, as it is, a priori, the only one of the day where Team World looks to be the favorite.

If Europe stays alive, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will take to the court looking for revenge after his debut loss on Saturday against Taylor Fritz. The Spaniard was surprised by the American in a match between the No. 1 players of each team and will be looking to get back on track this Sunday. He faces a familiar opponent in Francisco Cerúndolo, who delivered an excellent performance on Saturday to defeat Holger Rune.

The South American—world No. 21—has one of the few forehands on the Tour that can rival Alcaraz's, and with the speed of the court in San Francisco, coach Andre Agassi likely thought he needed someone with Cerúndolo's characteristics to face the Spaniard. Alcaraz is the favorite, dominating their head-to-head record 3-0, but Cerúndolo will surely give him problems and will be motivated to secure the title for Team World.

A very interesting match to close the session. World No. 5 Taylor Fritz defeated Alcaraz the previous day in a match that seemed assured for the Europeans, and his win was key to Team World having such a large lead heading into the third day. The American will have a tight match against Alexander Zverev that could determine who will be the champion team.

In their 13 previous matches, Fritz leads the head-to-head 8-5 and has won their last five consecutive encounters, including at the 2024 Laver Cup. The American will be looking to be a hero if it comes down to this decisive match, while Zverev will be seeking to make amends for his disappointing loss to de Minaur on Saturday, in which the Australian was clearly superior and "Sascha" won less than 50% of his service points.