The 2022 Laver Cup begins Friday with two singles matches scheduled for the Day Session. Team Europe’s Casper Ruud takes on Team World’s Jack Sock followed by Team Europe’s Stefanos Tsitsipas against Team World’s Diego Schwartzman.
These matches, as all Day 1 Laver Cup matches, are worth 1 point and are non-traditional best-of-three set matches where the third set, if needed, is a 10 point tiebreaker.
Match 1 – Singles (1 Point Match)
Casper Ruud vs Jack Sock
Head to Head: First Match
On paper, Ruud takes this match easily. The World #2 is coming off a run to the US Open finals while Sock has battled injuries and inconsistent play for several years.
Sock is clearly a pick of Team World Captain John McEnroe because of his doubles ability. Since all players on a Laver Cup roster must play at least one singles match, McEnroe is sending Sock out in a one-point match to hold stronger players for the two- and three-point matches slated for Saturday and Sunday. Still, in a Day 1 afternoon session match in 2019, Sock upset Fabio Fognini to steal a point for Team World.
No matter, while Sock is a veteran of three past Laver Cups and holds the record with seven doubles wins, he is not match for Ruud in singles. Ruud will have the crowd and the skill on his side. He takes the opener of the 2022 Laver Cup and starts Team Europe with a 1-0 lead.
Prediction: Ruud in 2
Match 2- Singles (1 Point Match)
Team Europe’s Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Team World’s Diego Schwartzman
Head to Head: Tsitsipas leads 2-0
This is simply a great Day 1 Laver Cup singles match. Both veterans bring the experience of playing two previous Laver Cups as well as top 20 rankings. They have played each other three times in 2022, Tsitsipas won Monaco and Cincinnati after Schwartzman won an ATP Cup match in Australia.
Schwartzman nearly toughed out a Day 1 singles match in 2022 in Boston before falling to Andrey Rublev 11-9 in a 10 point tiebreaker. Tsitsipas won his singles match on Day 2 by dusting off a then out of form Nick Kyrgios.
While Tsitsipas brings more fire-power and younger legs to London, Schwartzman brings guile and guts to what will be a loud and emotional affair. Tsitsipas seems a bit off-form and not 100% healthy as the event begins. Look for Schwartzman to out-heart and out-think Tsitsipas. Main Photo from Getty.
Prediction: Schwartzman in 3
