By Last Word On Sports,Manuel Traquete

Copyright yardbarker

The eighth edition of the Laver Cup will be played in San Francisco, with Team Europe defending the title won last year in Berlin and looking to increase their tally to six titles, with Team World having only won two editions. The hero of last year’s edition, world #1 and recent US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz will once again lead Team Europe. If he can replicate his 2024 performance here it will be very difficult for Team World to win this competition. On this first day, Alcaraz will only play doubles, while all singles matches look quite wide open on paper.

Laver Cup Day 1 Predictions

Casper Ruud vs Reilly Opelka

Head-to-head: Ruud 4-0 Opelka

Ruud has dominated Opelka so far in their head-to-head and it is easy to understand why. While Opelka can be a threat to anyone on a given day with his monstruous serve, Ruud has a very clear edge in baseline rallies. While he has been struggling ever since his Madrid title, nothing we have seen from Opelka recently suggests that he will produce the kind of serving and performance needed to win here.
Prediction: Ruud in 2

Jakub Mensik vs Alex Michelsen

Head-to-head: first meeting

Both are young players who have been making steady progress, but Mensik has actually had a big breakthrough with the title in Miami earlier this year. That tournament was sort of a flash in the pan, though, as he hasn’t really been able to have any other significant runs since, with his overall level quite close to that of Michelsen. Team World definitely has a good chance to get a point here, even if it should be quite a close match either way.
Prediction: Michelsen in 3

Flavio Cobolli vs João Fonseca

Head-to-head: Cobolli 1-0 Fonseca

Their one previous meeting was an incredibly tight affair, with Cobolli prevailing 10-8 in the third set tiebreak in Halle. While Fonseca certainly has a lot of upside going forward, Cobolli is currently the better, more solid player of the two and should have a bit of an edge here, even if Fonseca can definitely win this if he can play his best tennis, which he has shown only sporadically this year.
Prediction: Cobolli in 3

Carlos Alcaraz/Jakub Mensik vs Taylor Fritz/Alex Michelsen

Head-to-head: first meeting

As expected, these two pairs have never faced each other, as all four players very rarely play doubles. As is often the case in the Laver Cup, it feels like the doubles matches are more important for Team World, but without Jack Sock even these will be an uphill battle. On paper, the young European duo should have the advantage here.
Prediction: Alcaraz/Mensik in 3