Carlos Alcaraz and doubles partner Jakub Mensik gave Team Europe a 3-1 lead over Team World after the opening day of the Laver Cup on Friday.

Alcaraz and Mensik beat Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 in the final match of the day at the O2 Arena in London.

Rafael Jodar had broken a 1-1 deadlock after the day session by defeating Bublik 6-2 6-3 in the evening's singles match.

In the day session, Brandon Nakashima made the most of his Laver Cup debut by beating Mensik 6-1 3-6 10-7.

In the event's opener, Casper Ruud beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 10-8 to give Europe an early lead.
There are four matches per day in the three-day event.

The 16th-ranked Nakashima was a late addition to Andre Agassi's roster after US Open runner-up Ben Shelton withdrew last week.

Following the completion of the opening day, Alcaraz said: "I'm just trying to have fun in every place that I go and on every court that I play on.

"I don't usually play doubles. I just ​try to enjoy and be better at things. I use doubles to try and improve my ⁠tennis, a couple of adjustments. Having a partner like Jakub, ⁠it's really easy to have fun on the court."

Wins are worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday and three points on Sunday. The first team to reach 13 points wins.

Europe have won the Laver Cup five times while Team World won their third title in last year's edition of the Ryder Cup-style event.

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