The Laver Cup without the support of co-initiator Roger Federer? Guy Forget, Tournament Director of Paris-Bércy, can hardly imagine it.
The disappointment over Roger Federer’s Paris cancellation has still not abated at Guy Forget. The tournament director of the last ATP Masters 1000 Tournament of the season had tried in vain in October to guide the “Maestro” to the French capital.
In addition to the physical problems that Federer cited as the main reason for his renunciation, Forget has identified another “culprit”: the Laver Cup. The premiere in Prague was a “good advertisement for tennis”, but it had a negative impact on the following tournaments in Basel and Paris, the 52-year-old Frenchman told Le Figaro.
Forget cannot imagine that the second edition in Chicago will also be so well received by the top stars, however:”I know that some of the players who took part in this year’s Laver Cup will not be there next year. Flying an hour to Prague is okay, but they won’t take the jet lag for a long trip to the United States.”
The longevity of the comparison between Europe and the rest of the world is questionable for Forget anyway – especially if co-initiator Federer should stop supporting him:”There are no ATP points. The tournament calendar is packed. It remains to be seen whether the event will continue if Roger no longer promotes it.”