Team World captain John McEnroe confronted the sting of a third straight Laver Cup loss to Team Europe with candor and humor.
An emotionally-drained McEnroe conceded "I am toast" if his squad fails to capture the Cup at Laver Cup 2020 set for Boston's TD Garden from September 25-27th, 2020.
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"So this, to me, is going to sting for quite a while," McEnroe told the media after Alexander Zverev's three-set win over Milos Raonic clinched the Cup for the Europeans. "This one really hurts. They all hurt. We had chances.
"The first year Nick (Kyrgios) had a chance to tie it up with a match point. Last year we had opportunities to win. We were so close. This time we actually had, you know, were a point away and we were a tiebreak away. It's just crazy. It's just unbelievable that we haven't won this."
The Hall of Famer has close connection to his squad.
McEnroe formerly coached Raonic, has cited Denis Shapovalov as the current pro who most reminds him of himself and has called Kyrgios the most gifted player he's seen in a decade.
Sporting a New York Mets cap in tribute to his beloved baseball team, McEnroe bluntly conceded Laver Cup Boston will be a make-or-break moment for his Laver Cup captaincy. See his comments at about the eight-minute mark of the video above.
"I know that if we don't win in Boston, I am toast," McEnroe said. "So the pressure is on already. For me, at least."
Photo credit: Christopher Levy