Team World easily prevailed in the sixth Laver Cup competition. Team McEnroe’s victory over Team Europe by a score of 13-2 in Vancouver was their second straight win.
Despite the overwhelming result, it was a fun game with players from both teams putting on a show.
Naturally, Ben Shelton’s efforts at the Laver Cup just served to highlight how entertaining he is to watch. Shelton dominated Arthur Fils in straight sets when given the chance to lead Team World to victory for the first time in Laver Cup history.
There is no denying that this was not Team Europe’s strongest lineup in history. For only the second time in Laver Cup history, none of the big players were included in the team, while Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune’s late withdrawals due to injuries made the team weaker.
Bjorn Borg, the captain of Team Europe, would undoubtedly want to improve the group, and perhaps Roger Federer can be of assistance. Federer, one of the co-founders of the Laver Cup, said he “would love” to see Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic team up for Team Europe. Maybe he can convince them both to enroll in 2024.
Ben Shelton in 2023
At the moment ranked no.19 (career-high), the American played his last match on the 22nd of September when he defeated world no.44 Arthur Fils 7-6(4) 6-1 in the round robin in the Laver Cup (draw).
At present, during this year the American has managed to achieve a compiled 20-23 win-loss record. Ben Shelton’s best achievement of this year was getting to the semifinal in the Cagliari Challenger and at the U.S. Open.
He is also scheduled to play in Tokyo (Rakuten Japan Open). The main draw will start on the 16th of October.
Frances Tiafoe in 2023
LLWLWLWLLW At the moment ranked no.11, Frances played his last match on the 23rd of September when he beat world no.16 Hubert Hurkacz 7-5 6-3 in the round robin in the Laver Cup (draw).
At present, during this year Tiafoe has managed to achieve an overall 38-17 win-loss record. Frances clinched 3 titles in 2023 in Australia, Houston and Stuttgart.
He is also scheduled to play in Tokyo (Rakuten Japan Open). The main draw will start on the 16th of October.
Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe squared off just on 1 occasion. Their record is 1-0 for Shelton. When they played, Ben Shelton won 6-2 3-6 7-6(7) 6-2 in the quarter in New York (U.S. Open) on the 5th of September 2023.
In the video below you can watch the highlights.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
WLLWLWWWWW Currently ranked no.2, Alcaraz played his last match on the 8th of September when he was overcome by world no.3 Daniil Medvedev 7-6(3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the semifinal in the U.S. Open (draw).
At the moment, during this season the Spaniard has a 58-7 match record. The Spaniard has won 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. Alcaraz was the runner-up in Rio de Janeiro and in Cincinnati.
Novak Djokovic in 2023
LWWWWWWLWW Currently the world no.1, Novak played his last match on the 15th of September when he defeated world no.25 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-4 in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).
This season Novak has a 46-5 win-loss record. Djokovic clinched 5 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open, Cincinnati and U.S. Open. Novak was the finalist in Wimbledon.
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic played each other 4 times. The head to head is 2-2. Previously, the last time they competed against 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 see them in action in the following highlights.
Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic |
| Embed from Getty Images |
