One strategic shakeup, moving Ruud from the ad to the deuce court, would prove pivotal in reversing the outcome. The support of someone like Alcaraz equally played its part in energizing Ruud.
The result: a game-changing 6-2, 7-6(6) victory for Team Europe. Ruud and Alcaraz outlasted Shelton and Frances Tiafoe In a dramatic match-point ender, before turning to each other with simultaneous roars as they went in for an embrace.
“For some reason he picked me. I don’t know why, but I was happy to play,” Ruud later told press with a smile.
“We think we connected well. We moved good kind of with each other. When we crossed, we covered the other guy’s side and so on. We were returning well and playing good behind our serve, and at the net we hit some good volleys, and Carlos hit a few unbelievable ones. Yeah, it was fun, good chemistry.”
📲 🖥️ Watch the 2025 Laver Cup beginning Friday, September 19, on the Tennis Channel app
