The Laver Cup will be the scene of the biggest parade of tennis stars today, with the “Fab Four” in the Europe team. The first great comeback was that of Roger Federer: the Swiss, who has been out for more than a year, with his last match played in the 2021 edition of Wimbledon, led the European team’s lineup.
Following the announcement of the presence of the man who conceived the event, came the official status of another great comeback for the European team, namely Rafael Nadal. In this way, a great rivalry and a great Laver Cup doubles pair will be rebuilt at the O2 in London: Fedal.
Not only great performances, but also an excellent debut: for the first time since 2017 (the year the tournament started), Andy Murray was announced as the third member of the Europe team. With the incorporation of the Briton, who will also play in his country, the last entry was expected, the one that would complete the Fab Four line-up.
Only after winning the Wimbledon final did the final announcement come, with the addition of Novak Djokovic to the European ranks for the Laver Cup. With the four complete tennis players, only two pawns were missing on the European board.
The European team in the Laver Cup is completed by two Top 10: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud. For both, a return to the competition after their presence last year: both the Greek and the Dane were present in the last victory of the Laver Cup, the former being an important player in both singles and doubles matches.
Europe, therefore, has found its six main representatives; while the Rest of the World team continues to recruit members. For now, only four members have been announced: Felix Auger Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Diego Schwartzman and Jack Sock.
Michelle Kaufman talks about Nadal
Sportswriter Michelle Kaufman regaled tennis fans with a story about how she once spotted Rafael Nadal roaming the streets of Wimbledon all by himself. “Liz Clarke of the Washington Post and I, we always rented a flat together [to cover Wimbledon].
One of the greatest things about living in Wimbledon for those weeks is you’re really living in a tennis village,” Kaufman said. “You’re walking around and you’ll see commentators and players all around.
You’re right in the middle of it. There’s nothing like it, really. One day, we are walking to the ground and we see a guy ahead of us with a big tennis bag and it looked like Rafa Nadal. Just walking about. We thought, ‘You know, that guy really looks like Rafa.
But he wouldn’t just be walking through the town, carrying his own racquets,” Kaufman said. “Because they provide drivers for the players. Even if they are just staying three blocks away, there is a driver who will come get you. We were so curious and we walked really fast and tried to catch up to the man. And it was him.”
