Carlos Alcaraz admitted he was a bit nervous during the deciding match of the Laver Cup against US Open runners-up Taylor Fritz. The Spaniard registered a 6-2, 7-5 win as Team Europe won the Laver Cup against Team World on Sunday.
The youngster was able to bring his A-game to the court but admitted he was under a bit of pressure mentally to get the job done for Bjorn Borg’s team.
“That means I’m a pretty good actor,” Alcaraz said after teammate Grigor Dimitrov felt the Spaniard showed little tension on court. “I was nervous, I’m not going to lie. After Sascha’s match, he did a really good job. It was time for me to do my job. I had to win. After that comeback, I had to win.
“I had nerves, I was a little bit nervous. I tried not to show Taylor that I was nervous, but I think I played one of my best matches so far. Tried to be as match-calm as I can and hit it as good as I can.”
Alcaraz made a fantastic debut in the Laver Cup and admitted it was a different type of feeling to represent Team Europe as compared to playing alone on the tour.
“It was a different feeling. Obviously having them [Team Europe] supporting me behind me, it is different,” said 15-time tour-level titlist Alcaraz. “They try to just stay there and show me good energy all the time that makes me feel really comfortable on court and trying to pull out all the nerves and play good tennis.”
Meanwhile, captain Borg was leading Team Europe for the seventh and also the last time in the Laver Cup. Borg led his team to five titles out of the seven occasions.
“A good team, good spirit. We have been having a good week together,” Borg said. “If we started this Sunday in the morning, I think we had problems, but all these guys came through. It’s unbelievable. I’m so happy. I’m very happy because it’s my last year Laver Cup, and for me to have this team, it’s beautiful.”
Alcaraz will be next seen in action in the China Open, starting September 26.
