The Laver Cup is a competition in which the best tennis players from Europe and the rest of the world compete against each other in a team competition according to the Ryder Cup principle.Alexander Zverev is also allowed to take part in the debut in Prague this weekend.
Alexander Zverev is also there.When the first singles in the newly created continental competition for the Laver Cup will be staged in Prague on Friday, Germany’s best tennis player will be beating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the European selection.”I am so grateful to be able to play in a team with my idol Roger Federer,”Zverev is quoted by the organizer:”In addition, Rafael Nadal and Rafael Nadal are also on the podium.This will be an incredible experience.”
Zverev was not so enthusiastic about the Davis Cup in his first match on Friday (19.00/Sky Sport News HD).It took place in a rather dilapidated stadium in a suburb of Lisbon and then also on sand – not in the O2 arena in Prague on a spectacular deep black hard court.You can’t get rich in the Davis Cup either, but you can get rich in the Laver Cup.
No wonder, since Brazil’s richest Brazilian with an estimated fortune of 35 billion dollars is one of the organizers.Jorge Paulo Lemann, a Swiss-born banker and former Davis Cup player, launched the tournament together with Roger Federer’s agency Team 8 and the Australian Football Association.
The initiative, however, came primarily from Federer, who wanted to make a monument to his great idol Rod Laver.The 79-year-old Australian has been the only player to win twice the Calendar Grand Slam, the four tournaments in Australia, Paris, Wimbledon and New York in the same year,”He has inspired me since I was a youngster and it’s my way of thanking him,”said Federer.
No matter how good the reasons may be, in the end, as with all exhibitions in the past, it is primarily a matter of money.Not only Zverev will be able to get a considerable amount of support, but the other protagonists of the European team will not be the only ones to do the honours.Federer, Nadal, Zverev, Dominic Thiem (Austria), Marin Cilic (Croatia) and Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) serve the old continent, selected by Federer’s team boss Björn Borg.The “rest of the world” with captain John McEnroe will be represented by Sam Querrey, John Isner, Jack Sock, Frances Tiafoe (all USA), Nick Kyrgios (Australia) and Denis Shapovalov (Canada).
The matches will be played from Friday to Sunday, with a total of twelve matches scheduled.Sky Sport News HD plans to broadcast Zverev’s matches live on free TV.Pictures of the tournament are also available at Eurosport.Every day there are three singles and a doubles match, there are two sets of wins.
On Friday there is one point for each victory, on Saturday two points and on Sunday three points.A minimum of 13 points is required to win the Laver Cup.Each player will play a maximum of two singles in the course of the tournament, four doubles, each pairing may only be named once.
In the future, the tournament will take place two weeks after the final weekend of the US Open, similar to the Ryder Cup in golf alternating between Europe and the USA.Every four years the Laver Cup takes a break in favour of the Olympic tournament.Dirk Hordorff, vice-president of the German Tennis Association, is looking forward to the new event:”So far, all exhibitors who were looking for a lot of money have slipped into bankruptcy without sound or sound.”.