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If you haven’t been monitoring the ATP calendar too closely, I have some good news to share. The 2023 Laver Cup is right around the corner! This has become one of the most anticipated team events of the year since its inception in 2017, and it’s always great to watch the associated players do battle. As for the 2023 edition, the event is set to begin on September 22nd. And keeping in line with previous editions, the 2023 Laver Cup will run over the course of just three days in total.
This means that the event will come to a close on September 24th. So if you are hoping to catch some top-level tennis for the end of this week, look no further than the Laver Cup. On that note, if you’re not totally familiar with this event, let me give you a quick rundown of how things work. Essentially, the Laver Cup consists of two teams – Team World and Team Europe. Each team consists of six players, and through a progressive series of singles and doubles matches, the overall winners are subsequently determined.
Interestingly, last year was the first time that Team World managed to beat Team Europe too. And as you might recall, it was the 2022 Laver Cup when Roger Federer retired from professional tennis. Therefore, it’s obviously a special event for many different reasons, and looking ahead to this year, there is one burning question – can Team World take down Team Europe for the second year running?
I’ve shared my two cents in the following sections.
Team World looking set to score another victory over Team Europe at Laver Cup 2023
Contents
Of the five previous editions of the Laver Cup that have been contested since 2017, Team Europe has come out on top on four occasions. Then again, they’ve always had the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic to fall back on. Needless to say, with three legends in the team, it was always going to be a tall order for Team World to take down Team Europe. However, as I’m sure you are aware, men’s tennis is now transitioning towards an era that will not involve these greats of the game.
In fact, for the 2023 Laver Cup, this is just the second time since 2017 that the event will not feature one of the ‘big three’. Of course, this hurts Team Europe solely, as Team World still has their top players available. Yet while the absence of the big three is obviously a factor to consider here, it’s not the most important element that will determine who wins, as you will see below.
Team Europe withdrawals
Over the last week or so, Team Europe has suffered some serious blows to their chances of winning the 2023 Laver Cup. Specifically, Team Europe has lost their two highest-ranked singles players in the form of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune. To give you an idea of how impactful this is for Team Europe, since these guys are ranked 4 and 5 in the world, respectively, Team Europe has lost their two top players, on paper.
As for their replacements, Team Europe has brought in two alternates in the form of Gael Monfils and Arthur Fils. Of course, these are not bad replacements whatsoever, but with Monfils boasting a PR of 35 and Fils ranked 44, they’re not as strong as Tsitsipas and Rune.
Team World players in great form
If you thought that the 2023 Laver Cup withdrawals were bad enough for Team Europe, it doesn’t exactly get better from here. Turning the attention to Team World now, their team is stacked with guys who are playing top-level tennis at the moment. In fact, let me share the full roster alongside the associated rankings for each player right here:
- Taylor Fritz – 8
- Frances Tiafoe – 11
- Tommy Paul – 13
- Felix Auger-Aliassime – 14
- Ben Shelton – 19
- Francisco Cerundolo – 21
As you can see, four of the six guys shown here are American players. And if the recent hard-court swing in North America is anything to go by, all of these guys will be tough to beat.
Team World better lineup for doubles
Since the Laver Cup consists of both singles and doubles matches, it goes without saying that having a solid doubles pair is important. Once again, Team World looks superior in this department for the 2023 Laver Cup. Specifically, since there are four Americans in the squad, they will naturally have better chemistry and cohesion as a result of things like the Davis Cup. And for me, this will play a critical role in the overall outcome of the Laver Cup this year.
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