EXCLUSIVE: Laver Cup is ‘very competitive’ despite European star power, says tournament chief
Laver Cup organisers say the competition is one of the most competitive in tennis, despite many believing it is currently too one-sided in favour of Europe.
Team Europe has won every edition since the Laver Cup was created, and with star power such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in their ranks it has come as little surprise.
By contrast, Team World have struggled for top names on the ATP Tour of late. This year John McEnroe’s team will be headlined by Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. While that is a lot of talent, Team Europe will once again be the strong favourites
However, had the event existed in the 1990s when American men’s tennis was replete with stars, things would have been very different. That is something of which the Laver Cup organisers are acutely aware, and they also believe the format of the competition has proven it can produce tight matches.
“Well, obviously the game goes in cycles in terms of who’s got the strength, whether it be Europe or the world,” Laver Cup Steve Zacks exclusively told Tennishead regarding a suggestion that the competition may need a tweak to balance out the teams.
“The first three Laver Cups went down to the last day and were incredibly balanced in terms of the competition. The format is such that it does keep things very competitive.
“Last year, I believe that six of the nine matches that were played went to match tiebreaks. It just so happened that Europe took five of them and that really led to the one-sided score. But that’s only been one time.
“Now, there’s a lot of talk that way, but we have not seen it that way. And also, we wouldn’t change the event just because of one side winning more often during a certain period.”
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