Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer lead Europe in inaugural Laver Cup against Team World
ByReuters
Updated 21/09/2017 at 20:18 GMT
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will set aside their long-time rivalry when they play for Europe against the rest of the world in the inaugural Laver Cup tournament which starts on Friday.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Laver Cup
Image credit: Getty Images
Team Europe, featuring the world's top two players, are overwhelming favourites to win the three-day tournament, which is named after Australian great Rod Laver, with a squad boasting a combined 36 Grand Slam titles against none for Team World.
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 organisers hope to showcase.
Team Europe
Rafael Nadal (Spain), Roger Federer (Switzerland), Alexander Zverev (Germany), Marin Cilic (Croatia), Dominic Thiem (Austria), Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)
Team World
Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, John Isner, Frances Tiafoe (all USA), Nick Krygios (Australia), Denis Shapovalov (Canada)
"I've been watching these guys play for so many years, it's going to be a fun weekend," Borg, now 61, told reporters on Wednesday. "But make no mistake, we are here to win."
Conceived by Federer and his sports management company Team8, the tournament is the latest to join a crowded calendar and comes on the heels of the Davis Cup semi-finals last week.
With five players inside the world's top 10, the Borg-led European squad is heavily favoured against a world team hit by Argentine Juan Martin del Potro's late withdrawal due to injury.
"I'm expecting a lot of fun but at the same time I know it's going to be very competitive," the 22-year-old Krygios told reporters. "We are the underdogs."
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 is worth one point on Friday, two on Saturday and three on Sunday.
In a bid to keep the pace humming, the indoor hard court matches at Prague's O2 Arena will be best-of-three sets with a 10-point tiebreak deciding the final set.
With no player featuring in singles more than twice during the first two days, Nadal and Federer could see themselves on the same side of the net in a mouthwatering doubles pairing.
Federer said:
We don’t even know if captain Borg is going to pick us but, of course, I would love to play with Rafa and see that forehand do damage on the other side (of the net).
"I’m sure that the crowd would go absolutely crazy and just because of that it would just be great to play us potentially."
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