PRAGUE // The new Laver Cup team tennis tournament is supposed to be a “tough” contest, not an exhibition, according to Roger Federer.
The competition will pit a team of the best six European players against the top six from the rest of the world. The inaugural edition is scheduled for September 22-24 at the O2 Arena in Prague. The following year, it moves to the United States.
“The idea is to absolutely have a tough tournament, tough matches, the better man wins, that’s the idea of the Laver Cup,” Federer said on Monday.
To promote the competition, Federer played some rallies against Tomas Berdych on a boat cruising the Vltava river to a crowd watching from the famed Charles Bridge.
Bjorn Bjorg will captain Europe while John McEnroe will do the same for the opponents. The tournament is to honour Rod Laver, an 11-time major champion who won two calendar-year Grand Slams.
No ATP rankings points will be awarded, but Federer insisted that an exhibition “is not how the captains see it, that’s not how Rod Laver sees it. He wants us to represent our part of the world with pride and try our very best and also win for our teammates”.
The teams will not be named until after the US Open, but it is not clear yet if all players who will formally qualify via the rankings will be available.
What is for certain, organisers said, is that Federer and Rafael Nadal, the finalists at this year’s Australian Open, will be on the European team.
With Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka possibly on the team, Europe seems to be the one to beat.
“On paper, we look as the big favourites,” Federer said. “We have more depth in Team Europe that we can choose from.”
The tournament will include three singles and one doubles match every day. Federer was clear about his choice of his possible partner for the doubles.
“I guess I would love to play with Rafa just because of our rivalry has been so special,” Federer said.
* Associated Press
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