By Rohit

Copyright sportskeeda

The Laver Cup 2025 will get underway from Friday, September 19. The tournament is being held at the Chase Center in San Francisco, United States, this year. The first day of the tournament will feature three singles matches along with a doubles match.Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe were regular fixtures as captains of Team Europe and Team World respectively. Both of them bid farewell to that role following the 2024 edition. Yannick Noah will lead the Europeans from this year, while Andre Agassi will captain Team World.The Europeans will be keen to begin their title defense on a positive note, while Team World will be eager to make an early inroad this time. On that note, here are the predictions for all the matches set for Day 1 of the Laver Cup 2025:#1. Casper Ruud vs Reilly OpelkaTeam Europe’s Casper Ruud and Team World’s Reilly Opelka will kick off the Laver Cup 2025 by contesting the very first match of this year’s edition. Ruud won the biggest title of his career at the Madrid Open, and also finished as the runner-up at the Dallas Open. However, an injury began to bother Ruud shortly after his triumph in Madrid. Following his second-round exit from the French Open, he took some time off to recover. He returned nearly two months later, and a fourth-round showing at the Canadian Open has been his best result since then. He recently lost in the second round of the US Open. He has a 29-12 record this year, with a 15-7 record on hardcourts.A runner-up finish in Brisbane at the start of the year remains Opelka’s best result this year. He has a 23-18 record for the season, with a 15-10 record on hardcourts. He returns to the Laver Cup for the first time since 2021. Coincidentally, he lost his only singles tie during the tournament that year against Ruud in straight sets. The Norwegian has also won their other three matches, thus making him the favorite despite his recent struggles.Predicted winner: Casper Ruud#2. Jakub Mensik vs Alex MichelsenJakub Mensik at the Davis Cup 2025. (Photo: Getty)Jakub Mensik and Alex Michelsen will represent Team Europe and Team World respectively in the second match of the day. Mensik stunned Novak Djokovic in the final to win his maiden Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open. He has a 28-17 record this year, with a quarterfinal in Madrid being his other best result. He didn’t progress beyond the third round of any Major.Michelsen rose to prominence after reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open earlier this year. He also advanced to his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal at the Canadian Open. He has compiled a 22-21 record this season.Both players will be making their Laver Cup debuts, and this will also be the first career meeting between them. Michelsen has a 4-6 record against top 20 players this year. Mensik hasn’t been at his best in recent weeks. Unless he steps up his game, he could fall prey to the American’s tactics. However, his prior results this year do give him an edge in this match-up.Predicted winner: Jakub Mensik#3. Flavio Cobolli vs Joao FonsecaThe third match of the day will feature Team Europe’s Flavio Cobolli against Team World’s Joao Fonseca. While Cobolli has won two titles and has a 27-20 record this year, he has gone 7-12 on hardcourts, even losing eight matches in a row at one point.Fonseca made headlines when he upset ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open earlier this year. He captured his maiden ATP title at the Argentina Open a few weeks later. He has an overall record of 20-14 this season, with a 9-7 record on hardcourts.While Cobolli has won seven matches on hardcourts this year, only one of those wins has come against a top 50 player. He has lost seven consecutive matches against top 50 opposition. Fonseca, on the other hand, has a 5-4 record against top 50 players on the surface. The teenager will be favored to win this match based on their record on hardcourts.Predicted winner: Joao Fonseca#4. Carlos Alcaraz/Jabub Mensik vs Taylor Fritz/Alex MichelsenCarlos Alcaraz at the Laver Cup 2025. (Photo: Getty)Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz are the top-ranked players for Team Europe and Team World respectively. However, both of them will only contest a doubles match on the first day of the Laver Cup.Alcaraz made his Laver Cup debut last year. He lost his first match, which was a double tie featuring Fritz on the other side of the net. He won his next three matches, including a singles win over Fritz. The American is a Laver Cup veteran. This will be his sixth appearance.None of the four players in this tie play doubles that often, except for Fritz. He won the bronze medal in men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics 2024, and has reached four finals in doubles over the years. Alcaraz is the most in-form player on the tour at the moment. While his singles success could translate to a golden touch in doubles as well, Fritz’s experience in the discipline could help him lead his team to victory on this occasion.Predicted winners: Taylor Fritz and Alex Michelsen