Cerundolo beats Ruud to give Team World early lead at Laver Cup

BERLIN (AP) — Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled Team Europe even with Team World at the Laver Cup by beating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4 on Friday.

Team World led after Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina topped Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 6-4 in the opener of the indoor hard-court men’s tournament that features a format reminiscent of golf’s Ryder Cup.

Ruud, ranked No. 9, made 20 unforced errors and just 11 winners.

Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov was set to play Chile's Alejandro Tabilo in the last singles of the day.

The doubles will feature Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev against Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz.

The tournament ends on Sunday.

Each match win is worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday, and three points on Sunday. The first team to 13 points wins.

Earlier Friday, the Laver Cup and the ATP tour announced a five-year extension to their existing agreement.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis