ATP Tour

Nakashima levels Laver Cup at 1-1 following Ruud's comeback

Brandon Nakashima captured Team World’s first point at the Laver Cup on Friday afternoon, when the in-form debutant overcame Jakub Mensik 6-1, 3-6, 10-7.

After Ruud rallied past Francisco Cerundolo 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-8 in an opener that offered a glimpse of what is to come over the weekend, Nakashima then avenged the defeat to level the score at 1-1 heading into the evening session at The O2 in London.

“My first match at the Laver Cup, there were obviously some nerves coming out, but it’s pretty normal,” Nakashima said in his on-court interview. “When I lost the second set, I just tried to tell myself to fight for every point, to trust the guys on the bench and myself. I’m really happy with the win.”

This year, Team Europe — led by Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz — are aiming to reclaim the trophy in the ninth edition of the teams event after Team World triumphed 12 months ago in San Francisco.

#NextGenATP star Rafael Jodar takes on Alexander Bublik in the first match of Friday’s evening session, before Alcaraz and Mensik team in doubles against Taylor Fritz and Bublik.

Ruud earlier lost his first Laver Cup tie-break but quickly regrouped against Cerundolo to prevail in a nervy Match Tie-break, improving to 7-1 in set deciders at the teams event. The former No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is competing in his first event since retiring from his Cincinnati opener five weeks ago.

“I have to thank my team on the bench,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “They really pushed me all the way and kept me in it. It was tough to lose that first set… Also the crowd, you are great. Hopefully Europe can build on this and hopefully there are more Europeans in the stadium all weekend long. We need it.”

Watch Ruud vs. Cerundolo Highlights:

Nakashima arrived for his Laver Cup debut having posted a 13-4 record through the North American hard-court swing. The 25-year-old, who is competing at a career-high World No. 16, now leads Mensik 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.