The Laver Cup is a Tennis event that was brought into fruition by players like federer and Rafael Nadal who were looking to have a Ryder Cup like competition. The format for the exhibition tournament is quite simple as it pits Europe against the rest of the world. To add a little spice and bridge the generation gap, American, John McEnroe and rival, Bjorn Borg will act as captains of the event. In an already crowded tennis schedule, the event will take place in late September. The irony of the event is that several of the players who complain about too much tennis during the season are slated to take place in the inaugural event.
While honoring someone like Laver is important, it’s hard to figure out why now is the time for this event to take place.
The Davis Cup schedule is still in need of fixing
The ultimate team event, Davis Cup has been the source of player and spectator frustration for years. When you have the best players in the world constantly unwilling to play the most important team event, something needs to change. In the first Davis Cup tie of the season, the only player in the top 15 to play was Novak Djokovic. Djokovic only played due to a shocking second round exit at the Australian Open which opened up his schedule. One suggestion to make Davis Cup more approachable and fan friendly was to make it every two years.
That would help with the promotion of an event like Laver Cup, which could be played during the years that Davis Cup is not. Having the majors, master’s series, regular tour events, Davis Cup, Laver Cup and other exhibition commitments (such as the IPTL), leaves players tired going into the subsequent season. Until the forces at be, like the International Tennis Federation put their heads together and figure out a new format for Davis Cup, they will continue to see the top players skip this once important event.
Tennis does not need to follow golf’s example
Tennis and golf are sports that are constantly comparable. Whether it is due to the individual nature of the sports or the fact that both are viewed as slightly pretentious, they have become synonymous with one another. Golf has one major team competition known as Ryder Cup, which pits Europe against the rest of the world.
Laver Cup follows the same format. While it is cool to see Rory Mcilory potentially up against Dustin Johnson, tennis has those same type of match ups with Federer playing Nadal every other week. This type of format works in golf because it is not normally played in a match game like set up. Tennis is all about one on one match ups, so the idea of making an event that replicates the uniqueness of Ryder Cup is hard because tennis is always played in one format. Though Laver seems like a great idea, it will interesting to see, who decides to show up.
