Vancouver [Canada], September 21 : Each match may come down to individual or doubles-tandem brilliance, but the 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer believes team integration remains the key for Laver Cup success.
The legendary Swiss legend helped Team Europe defeat Team World in 2017–19, 2018, and 2019, bringing his career to a close in emotional scenes at the 2022 edition of the annual team event. The former World No. 1 has a lot of words of wisdom for the seven Laver Cup rookies who will be competing this weekend at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
“I think it’s [all about] thriving in the team environment, being well prepared and embracing a big crowd,” the Swiss great was quoted as saying by ATP in Vancouver ahead of this weekend’s action.
“It always depends on when you play, obviously, whether it’s opening day or the second day, but listen to the ones who have already been at Laver Cups before, and they can give you some sound advice. I’m sure they’ll be fine. They’re all excellent players here, we’re talking about world-class players," he added.
Last year, when Federer played his final match of his career in London alongside his dear friend and rival Rafael Nadal, Team World snatched a 13-8 victory at the O2 to deny him a victorious farewell.
The Swiss thinks that one of the things that makes the Laver Cup so beautiful is the chance it allows spectators to see top ATP Tour singles players team up on the doubles court.
“I always get very excited about Laver Cup doubles teams because they’re usually always teams that we haven’t seen in the past. [This year for Team Europe] I’d like to maybe see [Hubert] Hurkacz and [Andrey] Rublev play together. On the World side, I think there are tonnes of doubles teams there. Ben Shelton, I see him playing quite a few, also Frances [Tiafoe], I can see him playing some. Maybe also Taylor Fritz, I’d like to see how he plays doubles," said Federer.
“I just like superstar combinations; I think that’s always very exciting," he added.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion is content to sit back and enjoy watching his former ATP teammates from the stands, as he will do this weekend in British Columbia, even though he is no longer illuminating stadiums with his on-court talent.
“It’s good fun. I was at Wimbledon this year and also sat in the stands, and it felt great. I was really happy to see tennis. I still follow the results. I can’t sit through full matches just because I’ve got too much going on or it’s a bad time zone, but I sometimes check out the highlights and being live in the stadium honestly has a different feeling," said the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
“Tennis is a great live sport, so I’m really happy to be back here in Vancouver and seeing some live tennis again," said Federer.
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