The teams for the Laver Cup are complete. Who will play in Vancouver?

From 22 to 24 September, for the sixth time, tennis players from Europe and opponents from the rest of the world will compete in the tournament, which is named after the legendary Australian tennis player Rod Laver. Both teams have already unveiled their line-ups. Who will take part in the tournament at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada?

The tradition of holding the Laver Cup began in 2017 at Prague’s _O2 Arena, while the most recent edition was held at the arena of the same name in London. Last year’s edition was also a farewell to the successful career of Roger Federer, the founder of this tennis competition and show in one.

The Swiss star, but neither Rafael Nadal nor Novak Djokovic will be involved in this year’s clash of Europe and the World. At the same time, Tomas Berdych, who played six years ago on home soil, remains the only Czech participant.

So who will be playing on the unique dark hard court this time? Once again, members of the current elite world top ten will not be missing. On the European side, there are four players in total.

The highest-ranked of the nominees is currently the twenty-year-old Danish youngster Holger Rune, who is fourth on the ATP rankings. For the third time, another Northerner, world number five Casper Ruud from Norway, will be a member of captain Björn Borg’s team.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, the seventh-ranked singles player from Greece, will be attending the Laver Cup for the fourth time, and Andrey Rubljov, the eighth-ranked player from Russia, for the second time. The aforementioned foursome will be completed by two newcomers, the 17th player in the world Hubert Hurkacz from Poland and the 163rd Gaël Monfils from France, whose career has been affected by a number of health problems.

“Hubert and Gaël are two great additions to the team. On paper, we should be the favourites. Still, it’s never easy, ” the official website of the competition quotes a satisfied Borg as saying.

The defending champion is the World, which last year achieved its debut triumph. The captain remains John McEnroe, whose team will be mostly made up of compatriots from the USA. Two of them round out the top 10 of the world rankings – Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, both early three-time participants in the prestigious event.

The new Americans in the squad, world No. 14 Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton, the lowest ranked among his teammates at age 20 because of his 46th-ranked ranking, will also want to help defend their title.

World No. 20 Francisco Cerúndolo will also be a newcomer. “It’s a special opportunity to compete against the best in the world, alongside teammates and under the tutelage of one of the all-time greats, John McEnroe. I can’t wait,” the Argentine also told the Laver Cup website.

Félix Auger-Aliassime, on the other hand, can use his experience in a specific competition again. It will be the third appearance for the Canadian from the 15th position of the ATP ranking.

The Laver Cup 2023 in Vancouver will last three days, with one point awarded for a winning match on Friday, two on Saturday and three on Sunday. The first team to score thirteen points will lift the trophy. All days have three singles and one doubles matches on the schedule.

Source: Laver Cup, ATP