By Tennis Now | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday August 23, 2023
Legendary captains Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe have made their final roster picks for Laver Cup.
The Hall of Famers have named the final players on their respective teams for this year’s Laver Cup to be held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver from September 22-24, 2023.
Team World Captain McEnroe announced Tommy Paul, Francisco Cerundolo and Ben Shelton will join World No.9 Taylor Fritz, World No.10 Frances Tiafoe and World No.15, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, on his six-man team.
Borg has named Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz and resurgent veteran Gael Monfils as his two remaining players. They will team up with World No.4 Holger Rune, World No.5 Casper Ruud, World No.7 Stefanos Tsitsipas and World No.8 Andrey Rublev.
Alternates for both teams will be announced at a later date.
This marks Team World's first attempt to defend a Laver Cup.
It is the first Laver Cup in which none of the Big Four of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray are scheduled to play. Federer retired in an emotional farewell at the 2022 Laver Cup at the O2 Arena.
“I’m looking forward to bringing the team together in Vancouver,” said McEnroe. “It is a talented group, with both experience and youth. Taylor, Frances, Felix and Tommy were all part of our win in London and that gives us a lot of confidence coming into this year. We’re feeling good about our chances.”
In an ESPN Zoom call with the media to promote ESPN's US Open coverage starting on Monday, McEnroe called on the Tour to provide more support to Laver Cup and said either this year or next will be his last as captain.
"I love Laver Cup. I idolize Laver, Roger Federer. Never going to meet a classier individual than him," McEnroe said. "I believe that the Laver Cup should be preserved.
"My days are numbered; I've been doing this for a while. They're going to get new captains soon, in the next year or two. It's been a lot of fun, but it's got to be supported by everyone in the sport, and I don't believe it has the total support, whether it's the ATP -- we don't want to get into the politics of it.
"Sometimes scheduling is an issue with players, whether they're going to Asia or whether there's a Davis Cup. It seems like -- it's frustrating to feel like -- because the goal was to try to make it like golf's Ryder Cup where everyone was waiting until the last minute to see who was hottest, but everyone was available, and it doesn't seem to be the case now. It's tougher to get everyone committed."
Paul, World No. 14 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is enjoying a recent run of form having upset World No.1 and Wimbledon Champion Carlos Alcaraz two weeks ago en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal in Toronto. He experienced his first Laver Cup last year as an alternate.
Argentina’s Cerundolo and American phenom Shelton will be making their Laver Cup debuts in Vancouver.
“It’s an honor to be asked to represent Team World,” said Cerundolo. “It is a special opportunity to be able to compete against the best in the world, alongside my teammates, under the guidance of one of the all-time greats John McEnroe, I cannot wait.”
Shelton added, “I’m so grateful to Captain McEnroe for inviting me to be part of the team and am excited to learn from all my teammates and coaches and contribute however I can.”
Poland’s Hurkacz will also make his Laver Cup debut when he joins Team Europe. The 26-year-old has won six ATP Tour singles titles and reached a career high ranking of No.9 in 2021, making him the highest-ranked Polish singles player in ATP history. He also reached his first Grand Slam semifinal that year, defeating eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in the final singles match of his career.
“I am really looking forward to Laver Cup week” said Hurkacz. “It will be great to team up in Vancouver with some of my rivals under the leadership of Captain Borg. I will do my part to help Team Europe take back the title.”
Monfils has enjoyed a resurgence on the American hard-courts over recent weeks.
The 36-year-old Frenchman, a former World No.6, upset Tsitsipas to reach the quarterfinals in Toronto and then went on to upset World No.16 Cameron Norrie and World No.13 Alex de Minaur to reach the round of 16 at the ATP Masters 1000 last week in Cincinnati.
“I’m very happy with our team.” said Borg. “Hubert and Gael are two great additions. In total, on paper, we should be the favorites. Still, it is never easy. We are looking forward to getting to Vancouver and will be ready to give it everything to win back the title.”
Named in honor of Australian tennis legend Rod Laver, winner of the calendar-year Grand Slam in 1962 and 1969, the Laver Cup is played on a dramatic black court that will be constructed within Rogers Arena.
The three-day competition sees rivals become teammates as six of the top men’s tennis players from Europe face off against six of their counterparts from the rest of the world.
Multi-session ticket packages and single-session tickets for Laver Cup Vancouver 2023 are on sale via Ticketmaster.
Photo credit: Laver Cup