Defending champions Team Europe stormed out of the gates on the opening day of the Laver Cup in San Francisco on Friday, winning three of four matches to take a handy lead over Team World with Carlos Alcaraz sparkling in doubles action.

Alcaraz, who reclaimed the world number one singles ranking with his U.S. Open triumph this month, partnered with Jakub Mensik and guided Team Europe to a 7-6(7) 6-4 win over Taylor Fritz and Alex Michelsen in the final match of the day.

Competing in his first tournament since capturing his sixth Grand Slam title, Alcaraz produced moments of magic from the net and the baseline while Mensik brought the power as they grabbed a decisive break in the 10th game of the second set to prevail.

The three-day Laver Cup, viewed as tennis' answer to golf's Ryder Cup

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