For this year’s Laver Cup, which will be played in Rogers Arena in Vancouver from September 22–24, 2023, captains John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg have announced the final members of their respective teams.
Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime will be on Team World Captain McEnroe’s six-person team, along with Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, and Francisco Cerundolo.
Hubert Hurkacz of Poland and the resilient Gael Monfils have been announced by Borg as his two remaining players. They will collaborate with Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Andrey Rublev. The alternates for both teams will be revealed at a later time.
Captain McEnroe shared his thoughts about the team: “I’m looking forward to bringing the team together in Vancouver. It is a talented group, with both experience and youth. Taylor, Frances, Felix, and Tommy were all part of our win in London and that gives us a lot of confidence coming into this year. We’re feeling good about our chances.”
Fans appear to have been dissatisfied with the lack of selection of top performers like Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic once the squads were announced. Because top-tier competitors won’t be competing, some observers predicted that this Laver Cup will be uninteresting and draw fewer viewers.
One of the fans tweeted: “Won’t get viewers. Weak team. Just like Davis Cup.”
Another said: “Very weak. Won’t get many viewers at all”
And another: “This tournament is dead as a dodo It’s gonna completely fold in next 2-3 years.”
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
Ranked no.1, Alcaraz played his last match on the 20th of August when he lost to world no.2 Novak Djokovic 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4)
in the final in Cincinnati (draw).This year Alcaraz achieved a compiled 53-6 record. Alcaraz conquered 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. Alcaraz got to the final in Rio de Janeiro and Cincinnati.
Alcaraz has scheduled to compete next at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of August.
Novak Djokovic in 2023
Currently the world no.2, Djokovic played his last match on the 20th of August when he overcame world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) in the final in Cincinnati to win his 95th career title.
During this season Novak has managed to achieve a 38-5 match record. Novak conquered 4 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open and Cincinnati. Novak reached the final in Wimbledon.
Djokovic will play next at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of August.
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic played each other 4 times. Their head to head is 2-2. Previously, the last time they played each other, Novak Djokovic won 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) in the final in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open) on the 20th of August 2023.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic |
| Embed from Getty Images |