RF x Vancouver. #LaverCup
Roger Federer hinted that he could become the captain of the Laver Cup in the future.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has been retired from professional tennis for a year, but he continues to make appearances at some tennis events, even though he is no longer active on the courts.
This time, he will be closely watching the 2023 Laver Cup, a tournament he co-founded, which features revamped teams this year. It's the first time that none of the major male tennis legends of recent years, including Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray.
The Swiss leyend acknowledged that he enjoys staying connected to tennis and that he is open to the possibility of becoming the captain of a Laver Cup team in the future. He also expressed his excitement about the teams we might see in the doubles matches between Team World and Team Europe
“I like being in the tennis sphere,”
“Maybe one day, I’ll be the captain of the team. There are no plans as of now, but I think that could be quite nice.”
“I always get very excited about Laver Cup doubles teams because there are always teams usually that we haven't seen in the past,” he said.
“So I would like to maybe see [Hubert] Hurkacz and [Andrey] Rublev play together.
“Then I think on the Team World side, I mean, I think there are tons of doubles teams there, with Ben Shelton, I see him playing quite a few also with Frances [Tiafoe]. I think he will be playing some, maybe Taylor Fritz, would like to see how he plays doubles.
"So I just like superstar combinations. I think that's always very exciting."
RF x Vancouver. #LaverCup
With the absence of the great talents of recent years, Team Europe will have Andrey Rublev (6th) and Casper Ruud (9th) as their main figures, as they are the only ones who have previous experience in the tournament.
Considering the last-minute withdrawals of Holger Rune (4th) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (5th), this edition of the tournament will indeed see a fresh lineup of European players. Nevertheless, Federer has no doubt about the warm reception from the audience and has offered advice to the team:
“I think it's thriving in the team environment and be well prepared and then embracing a big crowd,” said former world No. 1.
“It's always... it depends on when you play, do you play opening day or on the second day? Depends, obviously. But listen to the ones that have already been at Laver Cup before and they can give you some sound advice and I'm sure they'll be fine.
“I mean, they're all excellent players here. We're talking about world-class players,” Federer claimed.
Roger Federer back at Laver Cup, a year on since his emotional retirement. 🎾