Federer happy the Laver Cup is not considered as an exhibition

The Laver Cup has proved to be a successful concept for the game of tennis. The cup has provided some entertaining and competitive matches for fans. The tournament started in 2017 and many questioned if the players would be fully committed since it does not contribute to ranking points. However, the last two years of the Laver Cup have been competitive with players on Team Europe and Team World putting up some good matches in Prague and Chicago.

Team Europe lead after Day 2

Roger Federer, who was involved in coming up with the idea for the cup has been impressed with the tournaments popularity over the last two years. This year’s Laver Cup is being held at the Palexpo Arena in Geneva, Switzerland. With the 38-year-old playing in his home country, fans have turned up in large numbers and the arena has been full to capacity. On Saturday, the two teams put up some spectacular matches. The day ended with Team Europe having a 7-5 lead over Team World. The tournament will end on Sunday and the first team to earn 13 points wins. Matches won on Friday are worth one point while those won on Saturday and Sunday are worth two and three points respectively.

Players happy to play

The highlight match on Saturday was between Federer and Australian Nick Kyrgios. The singles match was a back and forth affair which thrilled the home crowd who wildly cheered for the 20-time Grand Slam champion. The Swiss did not disappoint, winning the tiebreaker set after he and the 24-year-old had split the first two sets. Speaking after the match, Federer expressed his appreciation for the effort the players had put in the event to make it as competitive as any other tournament.

“What surprised me was the camaraderie that we have on the bench. I thought it was going to be hard to keep the boys out there. But everybody is super happy to spend time together.”

The world No. 3 also expressed his amazement at how the crowd had cheered him during his win against Kyrgios. “I mean, I had goosebumps during that game. I can’t deny that. I’m not immune to it. I don’t take these moments for granted.” Federer received some coaching from Rafael Nadal on the sidelines. He praised the Spaniard for his knowledge of the game, noting that it was intriguing to share strategy with the current world number two during the match.

Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019

Ranked no.3, Federer played his last match on the 3^rd of September when he lost to Grigor Dimitrov 3-6 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2 in the quarter in U.S. Open.

This year Federer has a 43-7 win-loss record. Federer conquered 3 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami and in Halle. The Swiss was the finalist in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.