PRAGUE — Team Europe swept the singles matches at the inaugural Laver Cup Friday before Australian Nick Kyrgios and American Jack Sock took down top-ranked Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych in the doubles to salvage a point for Team World.

The Europeans, the clear favorites with five of the world’s top seven players, jumped ahead 3-1 on the opening day of the three-day competition that is aimed at injecting a new jolt of excitement into tennis but joins a crowded calendar.

Playing on a sleek black hardcourt at Prague’s O2 Arena, Croatia’s Marin Cilic, Austria’s Dominic Thiem and Germany’s Alexander Zverev got the European team off to an excellent start, winning all three of their matches.

That set Nadal and hometown Czech Berdych up for a clean sweep with the crowd behind them, but the pair started slowly and were eventually beaten 6-3, 6-7(7), 1-0 (10-7) with the encounter decided in a 10-point match tie break.

Cilic beat American Frances Tiafoe 7-6, 7-6 in the first match and Thiem swatted aside a challenge from another American John Isner 6-7(15), 7-6(2), 1-0(10-7).

Zverev then fought off Denis Shapovalov 7-6(3) 7-6(5.

Team Europe is overwhelming favorite against Team World, which has no player inside the top 15 and no grand slam titles, compared to a combined 36 for the European side.

The teams are captained by Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, whose own rivalry starting in the 1970s featured a contrast in temperament and style that made their matches the kind of must-watch events that Laver Cup organizers hope to showcase.

The tournament, which will rotate between Europe and the rest of the world each year, features three singles and one doubles match each day. A win was worth one point on Friday and will count for two on Saturday and three Sunday.

An extra doubles match will be played if the teams are tied on points after all matches are over. — Reuters