Carlos Alcaraz waxes Taylor Fritz to help Team Europe win the Laver Cup

The match was not close at the beginning. In fact, Carlos Alcaraz of Team Europe at the Laver Cup delivered a pure onslaught of how tennis should be played. Taylor Fritz is a fine player but even at his best, he is no match for Alcaraz at his best.

The issue was that Fritz was never at his best. Alcaraz and Fritz proved to be a mismatch and, sadly, a bit of a letdown at the end of the Laver Cup. Heading into Day 3, Alcaraz's Team Europe needed three victories to win the tournament. After Ben Shelton defeated Daniil Medvedev, Team Europe had to win the final two matches.

Alexander Zverev came through in a tie-break to give Alcaraz a chance to clinch Team Europe's first Laver Cup win since 2021. Fritz is an excellent hard-court player and his serve keeps him in most matches, but he was overwhelmed by the Spaniard's shot-making and pure tennis ability. Fritz needs to hit the ball hard to win; Alcaraz can hit the ball however he wants to earn a victory.

Carlos Alcaraz clinches 2024 Laver Cup victory for Team Europe by defeating Taylor Fritz

Fritz's serve abandoned him early, however. He placed it in places Alcaraz had no issues returning, returning with force, and returning the ball in places Fritz was unable to get much of a return on. If anyone ever questions what the difference between a pure top-three player - Alcaraz's current rank is No. 3 but playing his best he is likely the best player in the world - and a top-ten player, the Alcaraz and Fritz match was it.

Fritz was probably humbled by Alcaraz's immense talent. Sure, sometimes Fritz might get the better of the Spaniard - the two have only met once before, however, and Alcaraz won 6-4 6-2 at Indian Wells in 2023 - but Alcaraz made sure early that was not going to happen at the Laver Cup. Most likely, while Fritz is able to defeat a lot of players on tour, he simply has no answer for Alcaraz's power and touch. Few players do.

Fritz was busy too often playing defense against Alcaraz's deep shots. Without a dominant serve for much of the match, the American had little hope. Sure, Fritz played better in the second set, but he was also broken again late in the set so that Alcaraz could serve the match and tournament out. There was little doubt he would do that.

In the end, Alcaraz defeated Fritz 6-2 7-5 to clinch the victory for Team Europe over Team World at the 2024 Laver Cup. Team Europe had the better roster, even without Jannik Sinner. Because Alcaraz is 21 years old and Sinner is 23, Team Europe should dominate the Laver Cup for many years into the future.

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