Carlos Alcaraz is once again the star player at the Laver Cup and he started his 2026 campaign brilliantly.
The Spanish star invests plenty of time and energy into his Team Europe teammates, which could be seen by his frantic coaching of Casper Ruud during his match against Francisco Cerundolo.
Alcaraz also won his first match, a doubles contest alongside Jakub Mensik, which was them defeat Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz in straight sets.
Rafael Jodar has now confirmed what it’s really like to team with Alcaraz at the Laver Cup, as the star is making his debut at the tournament.
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“Carlos is a great person, a great player. He’s helped me a lot since I arrived here in London. He’s already been here twice, if I’m not mistaken, in this competition,” revealed Jodar.
“So he knows more than I do how it works. And the fact that we’re both Spanish, I think that helps. The language always helps. I’m very grateful to be sharing this week with him; we’re going to try to win this competition and get both points.”
Jodar began his very first Laver Cup campaign with a victory as he swept aside Bublik in straight sets to give Team Europe a 2-1 lead on day one.
That was extended by Alcaraz and Mensik’s doubles victory against Fritz and Bublik, so Team Europe have a 3-1 victory heading into the second day of the event, which will feature another four matches at The O2 Arena in London.
Flavio Cobolli, vs Learner Tien, Alexander Zverev vs Alex de Minaur, Alcaraz vs Fritz, and Ruud and Zverev vs Bublik and Brandon Nakashima will be the matches on the second day of the tournament.
Each match on day two is for two points a victory, so there is still plenty of opportunity for Team World to turn around their deficit at the Laver Cup.
The tournament continues until the 27th September, where each match will see three points up for grabs.
Team Europe undoubtedly have the strongest team at this year’s event, but that was the case last year and it did not work in their favour. Last year the tournament was won by Team World, who beat Team Europe on home soil in San Francisco.
Team World also won the tournament the last time the event was held at The O2 Arena in London, which came all the way back in 2022. That was the first time Team World had won the competition and also saw the retirement of Roger Federer.
