US Open finalist and top American Taylor Fritz will lead Team World against Team Europe for the seventh edition of the Laver Cup in Berlin, Germany this weekend.
Joining Fritz, for who this will be his fourth Laver Cup, to play for the two-time defending champions Team World are his compatriots Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, world number 21 Alejandro Tabilo, Francisco Cerundolo and Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Facing Team World at the Uber Arena from Friday to Sunday is Team Europe who will be buoyed by the presence of home crowd favourite and newly minted world number 2, Alexander Zverev.
Zverev, who is playing his fifth Laver Cup, will be joined by an all-star cast of Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Grigor Dimitrov who replaces Rafael Nadal who withdrew from the event last.
Captained by Bjorn Borg, who is handing over the reins to former French world number 3 Yannick Noah in 2025, the Europeans will enter the event as betting favourites with their squad comprising half of the top 12 players in the world.
Team World, however, will feel right at home as underdogs having only once, in 2023, been considered the stronger outfit between the two sides in the Ryder Cup style event. Such underdog status was particularly welcomed in 2022 when John McEnroe’s men stormed home on the final day in a come from behind win to break their duck.
“No one beats Team World five times in a row,” declared captain John McEnroe in the immediate aftermath, citing his late great friend, Vitas Gerulaitis.
Trailing 2-4 in the overall standings, Team World will be relying on their doubles prowess to keep pace with their opponents as the weekend progresses, with the unique escalating points system keeping the contest alive until the final day.
Typically much stronger in the paired format, thanks historically to the involvement of Team World’s all-time leading point scorer, Jack Sock, Team World will be leaning on former college athlete Ben Shelton and Parisian Bronze medallist Taylor Fritz and Grand Slam doubles champion Thanasi Kokkinakis throughout each of the three doubles rubbers.
Shelton, for one, has expressed hopes that he and his teammates will be able to win their third consecutive Laver Cup for outgoing captain John McEnroe who, like Borg, is handing the reigns over to Andre Agassi at the conclusion of Laver Cup Berlin.
“It’s not every day that you get a Captain who’s as invested, if not more invested than you,” he told the Laver Cup website.
“His will to win and really wanting to beat up on the European guys was something that I thought was really cool, and I already had a huge amount of respect for Johnny Mac and I gained even more last year.
“Hopefully we can make this last year for him really special.”
On the opposing bench will be Casper Ruud, who owns a perfect 3-0 singles record in the Laver Cup, opening the last two events with a point for Team Europe, and is eager to see the Cup return to the Europeans.
“I’ve had the chance to play three times now and the last two years we lost, so I think Europe is eager to get their revenge,” said the Norwegian world number 9.
“Alcaraz is [playing] for the first time, which is going to be really exciting. And Zverev, he’s played a few times, he’s won the [Laver breaker] a few times, so he has the experience.”
For Captains Borg and McEnroe, much of their team’s success will depend on whether their selection decisions pay off, particularly in the early singles matches. For example, if Team Europe get off to a hot start on day one as you’d expect with the likes of Kokkinakis (#78), Cerundolo (#31), and Tabilo (#22) all facing much higher-ranked opponents, the day one doubles match will instantly become a must-win for Team World.
On the other hand, if someone like Kokkinakis, who will be arriving in Berlin full of confidence with strong Davis Cup performances over the last week, can reproduce his US Open victory over Greek Stefanos Tstsipas and sneak an unexpected point or two for Team World, Team Europe’s Medvedev, Alcaraz and Zverev will be under serious pressure to deliver on day two against Team World’s in-form trio of Shelton, Tiafoe and Fritz; all of whom elected to skip Davis Cup duties following the US Open and will arrive in Berlin fresh and focused.
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