The Laver Cup: tennis as you’ve never seen it

Ever wanted to see Federer and Nadal play for the same side? Well, now you can when the Laver Cup, a new three-day international men’s tennis competition begins on September 22^nd in Prague.

Many say it will be tennis as we’ve never seen it before, bringing tennis legends together as teammates instead of battling it out against each other. Making it a little more special for Australian audiences, the tournament is named in honour of our own world-great, Rod Laver.

The Laver Cup will pit six of Europe’s best tennis players against a team of six of the best players from the rest of the world. Federer and Nadal will compete in Team Europe, under the captaincy of Bjorn Borg, while John McEnroe is set to captain Team World, also featuring an impressive lineup.

So far, these are the teams:

(Rankings as at August 21, 2017)

The Cup will be held annually (except for Olympic years), two weeks after the US Open with the location rotating. When the new sporting event was launched in New York recently, Rod Laver was an honorary guest as they announced the impressive team lineup.

Our own Kyrgios to add firepower to Team World
Nick Kyrgios, the 22-year-old Australian who’s currently ranked at Number 18 in the world tennis rankings, has recently joined the Laver Cup’s Team World, replacing Milos Raonic who withdrew from the tournament.

Kyrgios said: “As an Australian, it’s a privilege to compete at an event that honours Rod Laver. We grew up learning that he’s a hugely important part of our history. I can’t wait for the Laver Cup because I’ll be competing with guys who are also my friends.”

“When John McEnroe and I got together and he asked me to be on the team, and showed such faith in me, I was delighted to accept. Playing for one legend in honour of another is not something we get to do often!” he added.

Nick Kyrgios has stepped in for the Laver Cup’s Team World

Captain John McEnroe said he’s delighted to welcome the Australian to his big-hitting team, adding: “In Nick, you have an exciting young player who clearly thrives on a big stage and against the world’s best players. He’s as bold as he is talented and I truly expect him to shake things up.”

Laver Cup fast facts

• The Laver Cup has been named in honour of Australian tennis legend, Rod Laver, the only man to win two calendar-year Grand Slams, and a tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport.
• There will be 12 matches played over three days (nine singles and three doubles), with the number of points awarded for victories increasing each day. Each player will take the court once or twice for singles, with at least four of the six taking part in doubles. All matches will be played as best-of-three, with a ten-point tiebreaker if play goes to a third set.
• The unique format of the tournament will showcase tennis superstars competing on the same team, playing singles, pairing up in doubles and cheering each other from the sidelines.
• The inaugural Laver Cup will be held at the O2 arena in Prague, Czech Republic, from September 22-24, 2017.
• The location will rotate between major cities in Europe and the rest of the world each year.
• The 2018 edition of the Laver Cup will take place in the United States.
• The Laver Cup is a joint initiative between TEAM8, Tennis Australia, the USTA, and Jorge Paulo Lemann. It is supported by Founding Partner Rolex and Global Sponsors JPMorgan Chase and Mercedes-Benz.

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Image credit: Jctabb / Shutterstock