Welcome to the Hollywoodbets 2021 Laver Cup preview.
The Ryder Cup should sue the ATP for copyright infringement. Honestly, they even have the temerity to host it on the same weekend now!
All jokes aside, the Laver Cup is essentially the Ryder Cup of men’s tennis. But instead of a traditional Europe-USA rivalry, the Laver Cup is split between a Team Europe and Team World. It’s the only way to make this event remotely interesting.
This isn’t 1998, where America could have fielded a team of Sampras, Agassi, Chang, Courier etc. The Europeans are by far the most dominant continent in world tennis.
That despite the fact that the ‘Big Three’ will not be in attendance this week. Europeans have won the last 47 consecutive Grand Slam titles (Juan Martin De Potro was the last non-European to claim a Slam back in 2009). Obviously the ‘Big Three’ are key to that lopsided record. But the natural successors to their elite status seem to be emanating from Europe.
Six of the European Laver Cup side are ranked inside the world’s top 10. By contrast, Team World’s highest ranked player is 11th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Doesn’t auger too well, does it? I couldn’t resist.
Named after the legendary Rod Laver, the Laver Cup was actually the brainchild of Roger Federer and his management team TEAM8.
Launched in 2017, I remember this event being initially met with a healthy dose of scepticism. What does this mean for the Davis Cup? But the inaugural edition actually managed to capture something resembling the mania of the Davis Cup. Who can forget Federer’s thrilling decider against Nick Kyrgios?
The majestic Swiss saved a match-point against the petulant Aussie before prevailing in an epic ten-point tiebreak. That’s perhaps one of the most notable format enhancements of this event.
The three-set matches are decided by a 3rd set tiebreak of ten-points. It has really enhanced the event as a spectacle.
Having said that, the Europeans have still dominated the early iterations of this team event.
Perhaps this year could be different sans the ‘Big Three’. Furthermore, the rambunctious atmosphere in Boston could facilitate an atmosphere never before seen in this event. One of the most fanatical sporting cities in the world, Boston could be utilized as a potent extra player for Team World.
Past Laver Cup results
2017: Team Europe beat Team World 15-9 (Prague, Czech Republic)
2018: Team Europe beat Team World 13-8 (Chicago, United States)
2019: Team Europe beat Team World 13-11 (Geneva, Switzerland)
Format – 2021 Laver Cup
This is a three-day event. Friday and Saturday will feature day and night sessions while Sunday will feature just a day session.
Each day four matches will be played (three singles and one doubles match). As I noted earlier, the matches will be best of three-set affairs, with the 3rd set always going to a ten-point tiebreaker.
Each player must play in one singles match over the first two days. No player can play more than two singles matches over the entire three days. At least four of the six team members must play doubles. No doubles combination is allowed to be duplicated unless the unlikely event of a 12-12 tie on Sunday.
The scoring is where it gets interesting.
There is an element of strategy in when you want your top players to compete. Sure, you may want to get off to a fast start to turn on the pressure. But the Friday matches are only worth one point. The Saturday matches will be worth two points. Then the Sunday matches will be worth three.
So, while you may want a fast start, it may be better to save you heavy ammunition for the later stages. It’s actually quite an ingenious system that distinguishes itself from the Ryder Cup format.
The first team to reach 13 points will win the Cup.
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe- arguably still the most iconic rivalry in men’s tennis history – will once again lead the teams as they have done since the inception of this event. This is one area where I would personally like a little more flexibility. It would be interesting to see different personalities take charge each edition.
The Teams – 2021 Laver Cup (with official World Rankings)
The top three players are selected via ATP rankings while the next three- plus alternates- are selected by the captains.
Team Europe
Captain: Bjorn Borg
Danil Medvedev (2)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (3)
Alexander Zverev (4)
Andrey Rublev (5)
Matteo Berrettini (7)
Casper Rudd (10)
Feliciano Lopez (alternate) (110)
Positives
Even without the ‘Big Three’, this team is impressive. Four of these players have reached Grand Slam finals within the last 13 months.
Zverev lost in last year’s US Open Final but won this year’s Olympic title. Zverev was also instrumental in helping Europe capture the last Laver Cup in 2019 (last year’s event was cancelled due to the pandemic).
Tsitsipas made the French Open final earlier this season while Berrettini reached the Wimbledon final.
And to top it off, Danil Medvedev just ended Djokovic’s Calendar Slam quest by claiming his maiden Grand Slam title in New York. Honestly, there’s a possibility that all four of next year’s Majors will be won by players in this side.
Negatives
The sheer amount of tennis these guys have played this season is mind-boggling. This was only exacerbated by the Olympic Games. There is a possibility that this tournament may suit the slightly less distinguished World Side. They simply don’t have the Grand Slam wear-and-tear that this team possesses.
Casper Rudd was a rather interesting choice. Though rated 10th in the world, almost all of his success this season has come on clay-courts. He isn’t ideally suited to these indoor hardcourts. He could certainly be a vulnerable point for the hard-hitting World side to exploit.
Finally, Feliciano Lopez is pushing 40 now. I hope this somewhat sentimental option won’t backfire for the European side. Those doubles matches could prove pivotal this year. Lopez- an accomplished doubles stalwart- simply doesn’t encounter this type of quality in your average doubles event.
Team World
Captain: John McEnroe
Felix Auger-Aliassime (11)
Denis Shapovalov (12)
Diego Schwartzman (15)
Reilly Opelka (19)
John Isner (22)
Nick Kyrgios (95)
Jack Sock (164)
Positives
As I alluded to earlier, this Team World side certainly hasn’t got the Grand Slam pedigree of the European side.
But that may prove advantageous given the sheer amount of tennis the European side has played this year.
Auger-Aliassimme and Shapovalov have both become pretty regular contenders towards the back end of Slams.
But I think that the biggest general advantage that this Team World has is power. This is a big-hitting, big-serving side. These indoor hardcourt matches can fly by if the massive servers get on a role. Opelka, Shapovalov and Isner can absolutely dominate on serve.
This side consists of three Americans. Opelka, Isner and Sock will no doubt garner fanatical – even vulgar – support this week.
Add to that two Canadians and you have a real North-American flavour to this side. I think that you can’t underestimate the power of a delirious home crowd (particularly in the aftermath of last year’s lockdown). Just look at how the European Ryder Cup side has routinely decimated the more fancied Americans in Europe. That – coupled with their power- may make this the closest Laver Cup thus far.
I also want to make a quick note of Jack Sock. Sock is like the Ian Poulter of this American side. With a Laver Cup win-loss record of 8-4, Sock has arguably been the best player over the course of the last two events. I think he could prove a vital cog in their doubles machine.
Negatives
The gulf in titles and class is clear to see. Take Auger-Aliassime for instance. The Canadian is their top ranked player but is still yet to claim his maiden ATP Tour title. That is not the greatest statistic. I would probably expect McEnroe to favour Kyrgios and Shapovalov come crunch time this week.
Diego Schwartzman is a headache for McEnroe. Unlike Borg’s Casper Rudd scenario, McEnroe didn’t choose the Argentine clay-court machine. He qualified automatically. I’m sure that he will have preferred a real hardcourt specialist like Llyod Harris in his ranks this week.
Everyone loves John McEnroe. Let me make that clear. But the firebrand American does have the tendency to make things about him from time to time. I just hope that the iconic McEnroe can stay laser-focused on the events at hand this week. He may not be the greatest guy in the world at making sure that cooler heads prevail.
The Verdict – 2021 Laver Cup
Team World to win
I think that I’m going to back the underdogs this week.
Sure, this is partially based on value. But there’s also a decent smattering of logic involved. Hopefully the crazy atmosphere can help propel this hard-hitting Team World side to victory.
You also have to ask yourself this: how motivated is this current European side? Many of them are now established Grand Slam figureheads. Do they potentially see this as a worthless distraction?
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