Team Europe are on track for their fourth consecutive Laver Cup triumph after earning an early 3-1 lead against Team World.
Opening-day honours went to Bjorn Borg's Team Europe at TD Garden in Boston, where the defending champions moved into the box seat thanks to wins for Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini and Casper Ruud in the singles on Friday.
John Isner and Denis Shapovalov managed to get Team World on the board in the evening's final doubles match against Alexander Zverev and Berrettini 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 10-1.
Roger Federer and Rod Laver were in the crowd as Team Europe – headlined by newly crowned US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and consisting of six of the world's top 10 – made a strong start courtesy of Norwegian Ruud, who overcame Reilly Opelka 6-3 7-6 (7-4), improving his career record to 3-0 against the towering American, and beating him in straight sets for the first time.
Italian star Berrettini then overcame Team World's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 10-8 in the competition's longest match at two hours, 52 minutes.
Berrettini escaped with the second set after facing two break points in the penultimate game before prevailing against the Canadian in a thrilling match tie-break.
"One of the best matches bar none that I've ever seen played, absolutely just enthralling," said captain John McEnroe, whose Team World are eyeing their first Laver Cup trophy.
Rublev rallied past Argentina's Diego Schwartzman, who won the opening set and led 6-2 and 8-5 in the match tie-break before losing 4-6 6-3 11-9.
"Today we are a bit more lucky; Matteo won a tough match against Felix in a super tiebreak, now you saw my match," said Russian star Rublev.
"It was so close; Diego was leading all the super tiebreak, but in the end I find a way to win.
"This happens. This is tennis, this is sport. It’s emotions. Someone has to win, someone has to lose."
On day two, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Zverev headline the day session against Team World's Nick Kyrgios and Isner.
In the evening, Medvedev will meet Shapovalov before Rublev and Tsitsipas team up for a doubles battle with Kyrgios and Isner.
'You can never count him out' - McEnroe backs Djokovic to win 25th major title
John McEnroe says "you never want to count Novak Djokovic out" despite his failure to win a grand slam in 2024.
Djokovic's last major triumph came at Flushing Meadows last year as he won his third grand slam of 2023, levelling Margaret Court's record of 24 titles.
And it looked like he would overtake that record this year, but he has struggled with injuries and a lack of form, meaning he will end a calendar year without a major title for the first time since 2017.
While he ended his wait for a gold medal at the Paris Olympics last month, he only reached one grand slam final, losing in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
He then suffered a shock early exit to Alexei Popyrin in the third round in New York, but McEnroe is convinced the Serb has what it takes to prove everybody wrong.
"You never want to count him out," McEnroe told Eurosport.
"This would certainly be the first time where you could say with some seriousness that you start to wonder if he's going to win again.
"How long can this guy keep motivated? Then he won the Olympic gold. I'm amazed that he's kept it [motivation] for this long.
"I'm sure to be surprised either way. If he doesn't win [a major], you would be like wow – he won three of the four last year. And now we're saying he'll never win it again. And then I would sort of be surprised in a way if he did, because of his age.
"That's what he's facing right now. It will be interesting to see if he's able to pull it off. But I do think he'll try to find that motivation to get number 25."
US Open: Never give up on dreams, says Flushing Meadows champion Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka's US Open triumph is proof you should "never give up on your dream".
Sabalenka, who lost to Coco Gauff in last year's US Open final, got the monkey off her back when she defeated Jessica Pegula at Flushing Meadows on Saturday.
The Belarusian prevailed 7-5 7-5 from a thrilling encounter on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with Pegula having reeled off five straight games to take a 5-3 lead in the second set before Sabalenka turned the tables back in her favour.
After becoming just the fifth woman to win both hard-court grand slam titles in the same season, Sabalenka said: "Everything I'm thinking, I remember all those tough losses in the past here and it's going to sound easy but never give up on your dream and just keep trying, keep working hard.
"If you're really working hard sacrificing everything for your dream, you're going to get it one day.
"I'm just super proud of myself. I never say that but I'm super proud of myself, I'm super proud of my team that no matter what, which situation we were facing this season and in the past, we were able to go through it and get all those beautiful trophies.
"It's also very special place here, the US Open. That's why it's very special, because no matter what, every time I was coming back stronger, and I was learning, I never gave up on this dream, and it means a lot."
Sabalenka is the sixth defending runner-up to win the US Open title in the Open Era, after Chris Evert (1980), Martina Navratilova (1986), Steffi Graf (1988 and 1995), Justine Henin (2007) and Serena Williams (2002 and 2012).
And though Pegula was the home favourite, there was still plenty of support from the crowd for Sabalenka.
She added: "That's everything, let's be honest without them it wouldn't be me and I wouldn't exist and as I always say without me you guys wouldn't exist too so you're welcome!
"No, no, I love you guys. Your support is everything and you're my family and I cannot imagine my tennis life and my personal life without you. I love you guys, I don't say it often but I will say it loud, thank you for being you."
US Open: Pegula reflects on 'incredible month' despite Flushing Meadows near-miss
Jessica Pegula looked back on an "incredible month" after losing 7-5 7-5 to Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final.
Pegula, the oldest American woman to reach her maiden grand slam final, fought back bravely in the second set on Saturday.
Ultimately, though, Sabalenka had too much, reeling off three straight games to win her third major title.
Pegula, who lost to Sabalenka in the final of the Cincinnati Open after winning the Canadian Open, could nevertheless look back on her achievements with pride.
She said: "It has been an incredible month for me.
"I had a tough start to the year but managed to turn it around. I didn't expect to be standing here and I'm grateful for the last few months of tennis and some incredible matches."
Pegula is the fifth player in the past decade to defeat three former women's major finalists en route to the US Open final. Each of the previous four went on to win the event – Flavia Pennetta (2015), Angelique Kerber (2016), Sloane Stephens (2017) and Coco Gauff (2023), however.
But Sabalenka proved just too strong, as the Belarusian became the fifth player during the Open Era to win both hard-court grand slams, after Monica Seles (1991,92), Steffi Graf (1988,89), Kerber (2016) and Martina Hingis (1997).
"I wish she would have at least let me get one set," quipped Pegula, who won five straight games to go from 3-0 down in the second set to 5-3 up.
"We had a tough match in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and she's one of the best in the world.
"She's super powerful and isn't going to give you anything, she can take the racquet out of your hand.
"I'm just glad I was able to stay in there and keep taking opportunities."
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