America’s tennis star
Taylor Fritz has heaped praise on the
former world number one
John McEnroe ahead of the
Laver Cup. The legendary
tennis star, who is the captain of the Team World in the two-team competition,
is set to end his reign as the captain of the team in 2025 and is set to be
replaced by former world number one Andre Agassi.
Fritz is coming into the competition on the back of an
outstanding US Open, where he finished as the runner-up after losing to world number
one Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3,
6-4, 7-5, was recently quoted in a report where he praised McEnroe. “John is a
lot of fun and a legend,” he said. “It has been a great honor and an incredible
experience to play with him and for him. He’s a wonderful guy and a great
icon.”
The competition will be played from 20-22 September in the German
city of Berlin. Two teams will compete to secure the ultimate prize. Team World
will consist the likes of Fritz, his fellow countrymen Frances Tiafoe, Ben
Shelton, Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and
Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis.
On the other hand, Team Europe will consist the likes of
world number two Germany’s Alexander Zverev, world number four and four-time
Grand Slam winner Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, world number five and one-time Grand
Slam winner Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, three-time Grand Slam runner-up Casper
Ruud, world number 10 Grigor Dimitrov and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.
This will be the seventh edition of the mega-event. In the previous
six editions, Team Europe had a clear edge with four wins. They ended up
winning the first four editions. On the other hand, Team World has been the
stronger unit off late as they won the last two editions. In the previous edition,
they came out on top with a score of 13-2.