"Europe had Thanos" - Ben Shelton seemingly compares Carlos Alcaraz to popular Marvel villain as he jokes about their Laver Cup 2024 stint

Ben Shelton seemingly compared Carlos Alcaraz to the popular Marvel villain Thanos and the rest of Team Europe as the Avengers after the 2024 Laver Cup triumph. The Spaniard came up huge for the Europeans on his Laver Cup debut, winning eight out of their 13 points.

Although Alcaraz didn't have the perfect start to his campaign as he lost his opening match alongside Alexander Zverev against Shelton and Taylor Fritz on the opening day, he made a remarkable comeback in the next two days clinching the cup.

On Day 2, Alcaraz avenged his loss to Shelton by defeating the American in straight sets following which he bested Shelton once again on Day 3, but this time in doubles. The World No. 3 paired up with Casper Ruud to get another straight-sets victory against the American duo of Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.

Finally, Carlos Alcaraz played Taylor Fritz in the cup decider, claiming another straight-sets victory to bring the Laver Cup back to Europe for the fifth time in the competition's history.

Meanwhile, Ben Shelton was a crucial part of Team World, winning six points out of their 11. Aside from his Day 1 win, the American paired up with Alejandro Tabilo on Day 2 to decimate Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud. He then clinched crucial three points against Daniil Medvedev on the deciding day.

Shelton took to Instagram to share some highlights of his campaign and to pen a heartfelt note for his team.

"Battled for Johnny Mac one last time @lavercup Gutted we couldn’t get it done, but helluva weekend with the boys ❤️," he captioned.

A person on Instagram commented how Team World was the Avengers of tennis to which Shelton hilariously responded how Team Europe was the Avengers of tennis and how they also had Thanos, seemingly alluding to Alcaraz.

"Team Europe had the avengers and Thanos this year," Shelton commented.

"I’m too far away from that level" - Carlos Alcaraz on being called Fed 05 by Team World

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after winning the Laver Cup (Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz was also called 'Fed05' by Team World during the Laver Cup. For the unversed, Fed05 is a reference to Roger Federer's 2005 season, which is widely regarded as the greatest of tennis ever produced. He won two Majors, reached the semifinals of the other two, and won 11 titles during the season.

However, Alcaraz dismissed any comparisons and said he was far from that level. He expressed his desire to reach the Swiss Maestro's caliber but felt it would be impossible.

"I’m too far away from that level," he said. "Hopefully I’ll reach it one day. But it’s gonna be impossible. They have to change my name because Fed 05 is gonna be forever for [Roger Federer]."

Carlos Alcaraz will be back in action at the China Open where he is the second seed. He will take on Giovanni Mpteshi Perricard in the opening round.