Alcaraz and Zverev fall in doubles as Laver Cup day one ends in deadlock

Making his first appearance in the Ryder Cup-style contest, Alcaraz teamed up with Alexander Zverev in Berlin, but the pair lost out 7-6 (5) 6-4 to American duo Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.

"We both served really well under pressure. Ben served incredibly well, so I didn't have to hit any volleys. That was huge," said Fritz, who was playing for the first time since losing to Jannik Sinner in the US Open final in New York 12 days ago.

"This is our first time playing together and I think the chemistry is pretty good," Shelton said. "It's tough that we can't play again together here, but I think you'll see us on the doubles court in the future somewhere."

Europe came out on top in two of the three singles contests to leave the two sides tied at 2-2.

The day began with Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo beating Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4, but Stefanos Tsitsipas eased to a 6-1 6-4 win against Thanasi Kokkinakis to level matters.

"I'm happy that I contributed with a point," Tsitsipas said. "It was against an opponent that I didn't have such a great time a few weeks ago at the US Open, so I was trying to redeem myself and go out on the court and not just do it for myself, but for the whole team. "

Grigor Dimitrov then battled through more problems with his leg, coming from 5-1 down in the second set to see off Alejandro Tabilo of Chile 7-6 (4) 7-6 (2).

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