In the early morning of this morning, the 4th Laver Cup held in Boston, USA came to an end. The European team led by Bjorn Borg defeated the world team led by John McEnroe 23-1 with the actual total score (after Lublev/Zverev defeated Shapovalov/OPelka in the early morning of this morning, the score between the two teams was 14-1, and the European team has secured the victory, and the following three games are not included in the total score).
Compared with tennis matches such as the Four Grand Slams, ATP Tour and Davis Cup, the Laver Cup is a very young event. Since the participating players are basically high-ranking and popular players, and with many legendary stars building momentum for them, the Laver Cup has received widespread attention in the tennis world.
Today we will cover the Laval Cup and dig through the background information of this event to give you a comprehensive understanding of the Laval Cup.
1. History and origin
This event is named after Australian tennis legend Rod Laver. The 83-year-old player won the four Grand Slam singles championships twice in 1962 and 1969. He is considered one of the greatest tennis players in history.
In 2016, Federer's agency TEAM8, current Brazilian businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann, and the Australian Netcom Association initiated the founding of the Laver Cup. The original intention of founding this event is said to be because Federer was inspired by the Ryder Cup in golf and imitated this new tennis event, which is why he called the Laver Cup "the Ryder Cup in the tennis world."
As the tournament was named, the trophy of the Laver Cup did come from Laver himself, who contributed the trophy he won in Boston in 1967, and the craftsmen melted it into a new trophy.
Federer has significant economic interests or shares in this event. After participating in the Laver Cup for three consecutive times, he was unable to play due to injury this year, but he still flew to Boston and went to the scene to watch the game with a cane to gather popularity for the game.
According to the official website of the Laver Cup, Rolex is its founding partner, Credit Suisse and Mercedes-Benz are its global sponsors, and UPS Express, Marriott Hotel, Moet and Chandon, Anglo, Uniqlo, Hyde, Geverle Coffee, etc. are its global suppliers.
2. Overview of the previous three events
The first Laver Cup was held at the O2 Arena in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, from September 22 to 24, 2017. The European team defeated the world team 15-9.
The European team members are: Nadal, Federer, Zverev, Silic, Tim, and Bertic. The players of the world team are: Querrey, Isner, Kyrgios, Sok, Shapovalov, and Tiafo.
The second Laver Cup was held at the United Center of Chicago, USA from September 21-23, 2018, and the European team defeated the World Team 13-8.
The players of the European team are: Federer, Djokovic, Zverev, Dimitrov, Goffin, and Edmund. The players of the world team are: Anderson, Isner, Schwartzmann, Sock, Kyrgos, and Tiafo.
The third Laver Cup was held in Geneva, Switzerland from September 20-22, 2019, and the European team defeated the world team 13-11.
The European team members are: Nadal, Federer, Tim, Zverev, Tsitsipas, and Fognini. The players of the world team are: Isner, Raonic, Kyrgos, Fritz, Shapovalov, and Sok.
3. Competition system and bonus
Laval Cup is a 6-man team competition. It is an indoor hard-ground event with performance nature. It is usually held two weeks after the US Open, and the location is rotated between Europe and other different cities.
match schedule is three days in total, with a total of 12 games (9 singles and 3 doubles). The team won 1 point in each game on the first day, the team won 2 points in each game on the second day, and the team scored 3 points on the third day. The team that scored 13 points first won the final victory.
Each player can play 1-2 singles, and at least 4 of the 6 players will participate in doubles. All games are played in a three-set and two-win system. If the game goes to the third set, you will win the ten-win situation.
Laval Cup began to be included in the ATP Tour in 2019, and the match results between players are included in the ATP statistics range, but without points, ATP will not award bonuses. Each member of the team that wins in the Laver Cup will receive a prize of $250,000 from the event, and each loses a prize of $125,000.
4. Participating teams and registration qualifications
There are two teams in the competition, namely the European team and the world team. Each team consists of 6 players and is led by 1 captain. The two captains of the previous four sessions have not changed. The captain of the European team is Bjorn Borg and the captain of the world team is John McEnroe.
European team members come from European countries, while the world team members come from countries outside Europe. Three of the 6 players were qualified for the competition based on the ATP singles ranking after the French Open that year, while the other three were determined by their respective captains. The basis for captain selection is usually determined based on the players' performance, popularity and even personal relationships, and the list was announced before the US Open began that year.
Kyrgios is ranked 58th in the world after the French Open this year. If he only considers the ranking, he will definitely not be selected for this year's Laval Cup. Because he has high popularity and play styles outside the court, and he has always maintained a good personal relationship with Federer, he has been on the list of the world team since the first Laval Cup.
5. Overview of this Laval Cup
This year, the fourth Laval Cup, was held in TD Garden in Boston from September 24-26, 2021. It was scheduled to be held in September 2020 and was postponed to this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ticket prices for tournaments range from the lowest $195 to the highest $1,606.
The European team members are: Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Zverev, Lublev, Beretini, and Rud. The players of the world team are: Alyasim, Shapovalov, Schwartzmann, Opelka, Isner, and Kyrgios.
The next Laver Cup will be held at the O2 Arena in London, UK from September 23-25, 2022, which is the venue for the former ATP year-end finals.
As a performance competition, there are no Big Three attendees for the first time in this Laver Cup, and only Medvedev is one Grand Slam champion among the participating players. So what is the appeal of this event? After the men's tennis industry will eventually lose the Big Three, how can this event achieve long-term success?
From a realistic perspective, the gradual retreat of the three giants is an irreversible historical law. As they grow older, the group of people who followed the three giants are also getting older. The younger generation of fans will eventually grow up. They may prefer Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Beretini and other peers.
As 18-year-old Radukanu said during the US Open, she saw many fans who were about the same age as her on the scene, which made her feel "extremely excited". Fans around 20 were also very excited to see players of the same age as hers win the championship.
In the Qing Dynasty, Li Yi wrote in "On Poetry", "The poems of Li and Du are passed down from thousands of words, and they still feel that they are not new. There are talented people in the country and the country have emerged, and they have led the style for hundreds of years."In the long run, the three giants that have gradually faded today, aren't they a replica of "Li Du" in the future? (Source: Tennis Home Author: Yun Juan Yun Shu)
