Team World draw level with Team Europe

Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton defeated Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev 7-6(5) 6-4 in Friday's doubles to draw Team World level with Team Europe at the of the first day of the Laver Cup.

After Europe secured a 2-point-to-1 lead following the singles matches, with Stefanos Tsitsipas thumping Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1 6-4 and Grigor Dimitrov squeezing past Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(4) 7-6(2), Fritz and Shelton made sure the day would end with honours even.

The blockbuster pairing of Wimbledon champion Alcaraz, who was making his Laver Cup debut, and world number two Zverev struggled to keep up with the American duo who scorched 20 winners to secure the win. "We both served really well under pressure," Fritz said during an on-court interview. "Ben served incredibly well, so I didn't have to hit any volleys. That was huge."

Bulgaria's Dimitrov kicked off the evening session at the Uber Arena with his thrilling victory over Tabilo as he battled back from 5-1 down in the second set to beat the Chilean.

"Great fight," Dimitrov said. "When I was down in the second set I just tried to be very patient and look after every point, point by point I started building a little bit more, and yeah, had good momentum coming into the tiebreak." Not everything went the way Dimitrov wanted, however, as he appeared to be in pain and grimaced several times during the match.

"The body's been struggling, I'm not going to lie," he said. "I feel like I'm playing great tennis but my body is not allowing me to push through a little bit more." Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo secured the day's first point for Team World with a 6-4 6-4 win over world number nine Casper Ruud, withstanding an impressive start by the Norwegian before turning the match in his favour on the Laver Cup's striking trademark black hard court.

Tsitsipas then got Europe on the scoreboard as he swept past Kokkinakis of Australia. Players from both teams arrived at Berlin's Uber Arena dressed in black tuxedos and bow ties ahead of the three-day team contest that sees first-day victories worth one point apiece, with two points being awarded for wins on the second day, and three points each on the third and final day on Sunday.

Kasatkina to face Haddad Maia in Korea Open final

Russia's top seed Daria Kasatkina will face Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in Sunday's Korea Open final after both came through their semi-finals in straight sets.

Kasatkina beat compatriot Diana Shnaider 6-3, 6-4 on a busy Saturday in Seoul that saw all the quarter-finals and semi-finals played because rain had washed out the previous day's entire schedule.

Number three seed Haddad Maia beat Russia's Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-4 to reach her second final in three tournaments.

Kasatkina came through her quarter-final when Britain's Emma Raducanu retired with an injured foot after losing the opening set.

Shnaider also needed medical attention during the semi-final, but Kasatkina kept her cool to win a semi-final that saw 11 breaks of serve overall.

"To reach the final at a tournament is always a great feeling -- it means that you have done good through all the week," said Kasatkina, the world number 13.

"I'm really happy to be in the final again. I'm taking as much time as I can here in Seoul."

Haddad Maia made her experience count in a 6-2, 6-1 quarter-final win over Polina Kudermetova that earned her a semi-final against her beaten opponent's older sister.

Haddad Maia again came out on top despite another day of challenging weather conditions in the South Korean capital.

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