Bulgaria’s tennis star
Grigor Dimitrov has become the latest
inductee into Team Europe for the upcoming
Laver Cup. The two-team event will be held from September 20-22 in Berlin, Germany, and some of the best
players in the world will participate.
On Thursday, former world number one
Rafael Nadal announced
that he would not participate in the event. The Spaniard, who is regarded as one of the best players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category after winning as many as 22 Grand Slam titles, said he was extremely disappointed.
“I’m really disappointed to share that I won’t be able to
compete at the Laver Cup in Berlin next week,” he said in a statement. “This is
a team competition and to really support Team Europe, I need to do what’s best
for them and at this moment there are other players who can help the team
deliver the win. I have so many great, emotional memories from playing Laver
Cup and I was really looking forward to being with my teammates and with Bjorn
in his final year as Captain. I wish Team Europe the very best of luck and will
be cheering them on from afar.”
In the latest development, it has been confirmed that Bulgaria’s
Dimitrov will replace the former world number one. The
33-year-old’s most recent appearance was in the US Open, where he was knocked
out after being forced to retire because of an injury during the quarterfinal
clash against America’s Frances Tiafoe. The contest's final score was 6-3,
6-7, 6-3, 4-1.
Dimitrov will join a host of stars in Team Europe, which will be captained by legendary Sweden's tennis star Bjorn Borg. He will be
accompanied by the likes of the current world number two, Germany’s Alexander
Zverev, world number three and four-time Grand Slam winner Spain’s Carlos
Alcaraz, 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev, three-time Grand Slam runner-up
Norway’s Casper Ruud and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.