Inaugural Laver Cup a success

[Puma Cat]

Don't know if there's other tennis fans here at AA, but personally, I thought the inaugural Laver Cup held over three days last weekend was outstanding.

A team based event, with Team Europe facing off against Team World, and Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe as captains of each team,
the format, two sets and a 10-point decider, with more points accumulating each day for each match win assured competitiveness, a very high quality of play and lots of excitement and drama. With funding from Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, JP Morgan, the production values and execution of the event was exemplary, IMHO, something the ITF could take a lesson from regarding Davis Cup.

It was great seeing the "next gen" players, Tiafoe, Sock, Shapovalov, Zverev, Thiem, etc. face off against the legends, and it was really wonderful seeing Roger and Rafa playing as doubles teammates on the same side of the net. Literally "once in a liifetime" stuff and everyone, the players, teams, coaches and fans, and Rod Laver, himself, absolutely loved it.

Without any prize money or ATP points, this was most definitely not an exhibition, rather the competitiveness, quality of play and excitement was off the charts. Rafa was asked if this was an "exhibition", and replied (paraphrasing here), "No, definitely not. I got up at 4 AM today to prepare and practice, and I don't get up at 4 AM for an exhibition."

Most importantly, it was the engagement and involvement of the players in a team context and setting that really won me over. These guys were full-on committed and involved; it was terrific seeing their level of passion and engagement. Seeing Rafa jump five feet in the air to hug Roger Federer after a climactic final to clinch the win for Team Europe was priceless.



Held over three days with a simple format, fast, furious action, gameplay, and competitiveness, and with a team atmosphere driving very high levels of engagement, this event has the potential to go BIG and transcend the classic tennis paradigm of Majors held over two weeks.

FANTASTIC.

[streetspirit]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Don't know if there's other tennis fans here at AA, but personally, I thought the inaugural Laver Cup held over three days last weekend was outstanding.

A team based event, with Team Europe facing off against Team World, and Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe as captains of each team,
the format, two sets and a 10-point decider, with more points accumulating each day for each match win assured competitiveness, a very high quality of play and lots of excitement and drama. With funding from Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, JP Morgan, the production values and execution of the event was exemplary, IMHO, something the ITF could take a lesson from regarding Davis Cup.

It was great seeing the "next gen" players, Tiafoe, Sock, Shapovalov, Zverev, Thiem, etc. face off against the legends, and it was really wonderful seeing Roger and Rafa playing as doubles teammates on the same side of the net. Literally "once in a liifetime" stuff and everyone, the players, teams, coaches and fans, and Rod Laver, himself, absolutely loved it.

Without any prize money or ATP points, this was most definitely not an exhibition, rather the competitiveness, quality of play and excitement was off the charts. Rafa was asked if this was an "exhibition", and replied (paraphrasing here), "No, definitely not. I got up at 4 AM today to prepare and practice, and I don't get up at 4 AM for an exhibition."

Most importantly, it was the engagement and involvement of the players in a team context and setting that really won me over. These guys were full-on committed and involved; it was terrific seeing their level of passion and engagement. Seeing Rafa jump five feet in the air to hug Roger Federer after a climactic final to clinch the win for Team Europe was priceless.



Held over three days with a simple format, fast, furious action, gameplay, and competitiveness, and with a team atmosphere driving very high levels of engagement, this event has the potential to go BIG and transcend the classic tennis paradigm of Majors held over two weeks.

FANTASTIC.

Yes it was fantastic! Great tennis, competitive and close matches. The guys out there wanted to win!

Mitch