Albert Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, September 20, 2024
Team Europe has lost its highest-ranked star before a shot is struck in this weekend's Laver Cup.
World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas has withdrawn from this weekend's Laver Cup due to injury.
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Nineteen-year-old French phenom Arthur Fils will replace Tsitsipas on captain Bjorn Borg's Team Europe squad.
Laver Cup Vancouver will be contested from September 22nd-24th at Rodgers Arena in Vancouver.
Tsitsipas' departure comes a couple of days after world No. 4 Holger Rune withdrew and was replaced by Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
This is the first Laver Cup where none of the Big 4—competition founder Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal or Andy Murray—will be competing. In the absences of Tsitsipas and Rune, world No. 6 Andrey Rublev will be the highest-ranked player on Team Europe.
It is also expected to be the final Laver Cup for original team captains Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Federer will be in Vancouver this weekend and is clear about which squad he's supporting.
Photo credit: Matthew Calvis