What Carlos Alcaraz was heard telling Casper Ruud during his first Laver Cup match

The Laver Cup got underway with Casper Ruud’s singles match against Francisco Cerundolo.

As it tradition with the Laver Cup, every member of Team World and Team Europe, including team captains Andre Agassi and Yannick Noah, were courtside for the match.

As a result, the professionals often jump in to give their fellow players some advice and none more so than Alcaraz, who was very animated on the sidelines.

Alcaraz could be heard giving his teammate Ruud some advice during the first set against Cerundolo.

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“His forehand side, try some backhands down the line because he’s not that dangerous when he plays a forehand from that side,” said the Spaniard to Ruud.

“And then some drop shots or something, just to make him move a little bit and think you might play the drop shot sometimes. And then when he’s in the net, he’s not that good. It’s not his game. It makes him think a little bit more.”

While Alcaraz’s advice sounded good, Ruud was unable to capitalise on the world No 2’s words of wisdom. He lost the first set to Cerundolo in a tie-break in a mammoth set which went 65 minutes.

As for Alcaraz, the Spaniard is set for his first match in a doubles contest alongside Jakub Mensik as they face Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz.

Alcaraz is a huge fan of the Laver Cup and this year will be his third appearace in a row in the format first set up by Roger Federer back in 2017. He is looking to win the tournament for Team Europe after their defeat at last year’s event.

Speaking about his fondness for the team tournament, the Spaniard said: “We are not used to playing team events. During the whole year we don’t have team events at all.

“For me especially, I love team events, spending time with them, having fun, as you could see the previous year, how much fun I had on the court and off the court.”

Alcaraz even opted to play the Laver Cup this year rather than the Davis Cup. Spain’s tie against Chile, which they won 4-0, featured Rafael Jodar and Daniel Merida instead.

The Spaniard teams with Alexander Zverev, Ruud, Mensik, Jodar, and Flavio Cobolli against a Team World featuring Francisco Cerundolo, Bublik, Fritz, Brandon Nakashima, and Learner Tien.

The tournament runs from September 25 to the 27th, right before the top players on the ATP Tour head to the Asian swing and the China Open and the Japan Open.