By Tennis Now | @nnis_Now | Thursday, April 11, 2024
Team World will bring back the Demon defense in its bid to three-peat as Laver Cup champion.
World captain John McEnroe has named Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul to his squad, which will play for a third straight Laver Cup crown against Team Europe at the Uber Arena in Berlin from September 20-22.
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The trio were part of Team World’s historic first Laver Cup victory at The O2 in London in 2022. Fritz and Paul were also part of the victorious team last year in Vancouver.
Team Europe Captain Bjorn Borg has already named three of the biggest stars in tennis to his six-man roster – World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz, World No.4 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 5 Alexander Zverev.
This will be the final year that Borg and McEnroe will go head-to-head as Laver Cup team captains, having held the roles since the inaugural Laver Cup in 2017 in Prague.
"Bjorn has had a really strong start to his lineup this year, so it’s great to have Alex, Taylor and Tommy back on the team again,” said McEnroe. “They have performed well in this competition, have been great team members, and know what it takes to win.
“We’ve had some epic Laver Cup battles over the years. With this being our final year, both Bjorn and I will be pulling out all the stops to get the victory.”
De Minaur, nicknamed "Demon", has had an impressive start to 2024, breaking into the top 10 for the first time after back-to-back wins against Fritz, Novak Djokovic and Zverev at the United Cup in January. He backed that up a few weeks later by winning his eighth ATP Tour title in Acapulco.
“Being part of the Laver Cup in London was incredible and I’m honored to be back on Captain McEnroe’s team once again,” said de Minaur. “We will have a fight on our hands with an impressive roster of Team Europe players so far, but I love the team environment and we will give it everything we’ve got to pull off the win for Team World.”
Berlin will be the fourth Laver Cup call-up for American Fritz, who currently sits at No.13 on the PIF ATP Rankings. His victory at the ATP Tour event in Delray Beach in February 2023 saw him achieve a career-high ranking of No.5, becoming the first American in the Top 5 since 2009. He captured the Delray Beach title once again this year beating compatriot Paul in the final.
“Laver Cup is one of my favorite events,” said Fritz. “Teaming up with our rivals and being courtside to cheer them on while being mentored by a legend like John McEnroe is truly incredible. Team World brings such a great energy and positive vibe that we’ve managed to pull off some incredible wins over the years and we’ll be aiming to do it again in Berlin.”
Paul is back for a third Laver Cup, having been an alternate in his first outing at the event in London in 2022, before playing for the winning team last year in Vancouver.
“It was incredible to step out on court for Team World last year in Vancouver,” said Paul. “The atmosphere, camaraderie and excitement of the Laver Cup is unlike any other tournament. I look forward to taking part in Berlin and hopefully contributing to another team victory.”
Named in honor of Australian tennis legend Rod Laver, winner of the calendar-year Grand Slam in 1962 and 1969, the Laver Cup pits six of the top men’s tennis players from Europe against six of their counterparts from the rest of the world. The competition is played on a dramatic black court and rotates host cities between Europe and the World annually.
Each teams’ six players must all compete in one singles match during the first two days, and no more than two during the three-day competition. At least four of the six players must play doubles. Each match win is worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday, and three points on Sunday, with the first team to reach 13 points winning the Laver Cup.
The top three-ranked players for each team earn a guaranteed invitation based on their ATP singles ranking on the Monday after Roland-Garros (June 10, 2024). The remaining three will be Captains’ picks and named any time before the start of the US Open. With the naming of de Minaur, Fritz and Paul before the qualification deadline, McEnroe is committing to use one or more of his Captain’s picks if needed to guarantee their participation.
A variety of Multi-Session Ticket Package options, providing the same seat for select sessions of the tournament, will go on sale on Wednesday, April 17 at 10:00AM CET via the Laver Cup Ticket Shop operated by CTS Eventim at lavercup.com/tickets. Single-Session Tickets will go on sale on Friday, May 17 at 10:00AM CET.
Full Tournament Ticket Packages, providing the same seat for all five sessions of the tournament over three days, are currently on sale at lavercup.com/tickets.
Photo credit: Laver Cup