By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, September 22, 2023
“It’s a good test for an event I believe in, the Laver Cup,” said Team World captain John McEnroe.
Photo credit: Laver Cup Facebook
Several missions intersected the Laver Cup lines this week.
Team World aims to defend the Laver Cup for the first time, as competing stars gather to solidify the team’s competitive future.
List of Restrictions: It’s crazy
This is the first Laver Cup without one of the Big 4—Laver Cup founders Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray—playing.
The question is: Can the Laver Cup survive and thrive without the iconic champions joining forces to bring buzz and global popularity to the event?
Hall of Famer John McEnroewho has captained Team World every year, sees this weekend in Vancouver as a testament to the Laver Cup.
“I think it’s, you know, a good test for an event I believe, the Laver Cup, because of what you’re talking about there: the opportunity,” McEnroe told Vancouver media in pre-event press conference. “We don’t have these all-time legends, but you can have future Grand Slam winners all over the place. You never know. “
McEnroe sees the Laver Cup as a “gift” to tennis that must be respected—by the ATP, the players and the schedule—if it is to grow to the level of golf’s Ryder Cup, which is sometimes cited by organizers of the Laver Cup as a model.
“That’s exciting. They got a chance to stand up,†McEnroe said. “I think this is where it is hoped that tennis will realize the gift it has been given – this is my opinion – by joining Rod Laver and Roger Federer in a team event like this. I think it is a shame if this thing doesn’t continue to, you know, exist on the calendar.
A year ago, fans packed London’s O2 Arena to support Federer in his emotional farewell that saw a stacked Team Europe featuring Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray.
This year, Top 10 standouts Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas they were both injured. Captain of Team World by Bjorn Borg squad A starsAndrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Gael Monfils, Hubert Hurkacz, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Arthur Fils.
Four Americans—Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and US Open semifinalist Ben Shelton—will form the core for Team World, which will also feature Canada Felix Auger-Aliassime and Argentinean Francisco Cerundolo.
Swiss superstar Federer said the goal is to bring the team format to an individual sport—and spread tennis to cities that don’t traditionally host the pro circuit.
“I think it’s very exciting. I think the format looks rock solid,†said Federer. “As we’ve gone into it, I’ve been thinking with the team about all the different variations of things that could happen, and so far so good. Obviously in five years we’ve been in a lot of different places.
“Then eventually, I don’t know, the Laver Cup will move out of North America and start spreading a little bit more. Where that is is unknown, but I’m looking forward to, you know, watching the Laver Cup go on the road, really, and in great places. I think we’ve played in some amazing cities, amazing arenas with great crowds.
The tagline of the Laver Cup is “rivals become teammates.”
McEnroe stated that the team event needs full commitment from the ATP to continue to improve.
“I love the Laver Cup. I idolize Laver, Roger Federer: Never meet a kinder individual than him,†said McEnroe. “I believe the Laver Cup should be preserved. My days are numbered; I’ve been doing this for a while. They’ll be getting new captains soon, in the next year or two.
“It’s a lot of fun, but it needs to be supported by everyone in the sport, and I don’t believe it has general support, even the ATP—we don’t want to get into the politics of it. Sometimes scheduling is a issue with the players, if they go to Asia or if there is a Davis Cup.
“It’s like—it’s depressing—because the goal is to try to make it like the Ryder Cup in golf where everyone waits until the last minute to see who’s the hottest, but everyone is there, and it doesn’t seem like it. is the case today. It’s harder to make all the commitment. “
The 42-year-old Federer bid a tearful farewell to tennis standing shoulder to shoulder with rival Rafa Nadal at the 2022 Laver Cup at London’s O2 Arena.
Given Federer’s retirement, Nadal’s plan to play a farewell season in 2024 and the fact that 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic is focusing his final years on big ambitions, could the Laver Cup succeed without its original star support?
The participation of the winner of Wimbledon Carlos Alcaraz The future may ease concerns about the future of the Laver Cup, McEnroe suggested, as the competition, like the game itself, moves on to the next season.
“I hope the future is bright because I think it’s a great event, and obviously the transfer, it’s necessary — Alcaraz won’t play this year, but if there’s a guy like him it’s huge,” said McEnroe. “That’s why it should be supported, I believe, by the younger generation, because as you pointed out, you’re only talking about men who aren’t there, and I think that’s obviously not helping the movement.”