When thinking about a Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer matchup, the vast majority will instinctively choose to go on with the concept of a fierce rivalry or the aesthetics of a drama. And they'll have all the right in the world to do so given the numbers that stand as the irrefutable proof of their tumultuous shared history. And that's why Laver Cup may pose as a historic place where their rivalry will be suspended for a weekend, just long enough to produce chills of joy down every tennis addict's spine.
Being held for the first time as a brand new initiative from Roger Federer and his agent Tony Godsick, Laver Cup will have the city of Prague as the venue of the inaugural edition.
Next year, it is supposed to cross the Atlantic Ocean as the United States will become the hosting party. This new tennis treat has seemed to gather attention in what may be an attempt to outshine the anachronic Davis Cup.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal lead Team Europe
This new exhibition event will consist of three different teams geographically created. Thus, Federer will team up with Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdych, Dominic Thiem, and Alexander Zverev for Team Europe. By far, this particular assembly seems to have the best odds of winning the event.
Since the first news on the matter emerged back in 2016, there was an immediate stir regarding the possibility of having a unique doubles team. Thus, a long-awaited dream for many, the sportsmanship between Roger and Rafa will be redesigned using Laver Cup.
There is an opposing team evidently known as the World Team which will be comprised of players like Nick Kyrgios, John Isner, Denis Shapovalov, Sam Querrey, and Jack Sock. The difference in the matter of value (individual or combined) works in Europe's favor, even though guys like Kyrgios or Shapovalov have already proven their value against the big names earlier this year.
A rivalry that started more than thirteen years ago
It was the season of 2004 and the Miami Tennis Tournament was in full swing. That's the starting point of one of the greatest rivalries tennis has ever seen. As years went by, both players became the pillars of modern tennis and some true ambassadors of the sports. Over the years, their head-to-head stats included 37 direct clashes.
It's Rafael Nadal who leads by a margin 23-14 but, in recent years, the trend seemed to have had Federer running from behind to close the gap.
For Laver Cup, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are ready to take on the rest of the world.