Federer, Nadal both star in debut of Laver Cup
• Against the percentages and their biological clocks, it has been one of the dreamiest of seasons for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And despite how much of a disrupter Nick Kyrgios can be when he is truly in the mood for tennis, he could not quite provide the buzzkill this weekend.
Instead, the final match of this first Laver Cup reached a conclusion very much in tune with these times, as Federer held firm to defeat Kyrgios in three sets after facing a match point.
Federer then held his ground once more when Nadal rushed onto the court and leaped into his arms to celebrate Team Europe’s 15-9 victory over Team World, which was not as lopsided as that final score might indicate: Each victory Sunday was worth three points.
“It was a feeling that was on the same level as the biggest moments I’ve had in my career,” Federer said.
That is a major statement from a 36- year- old champion who has won a record 19 major singles titles, an Olympic gold medal and Switzerland’s first Davis Cup.
After all, the Laver Cup is technically an exhibition, even if it hardly felt like one. It offers no rankings points and has no official tour sanction, although it did offer major financial incentives to attract the stars. The taut matches played here will not — at least not yet — be part of the official record maintained by the ATP Tour.
Nor will Federer and Nadal’s first and perhaps only appearance as a doubles team, which was a feel-great moment on Saturday night for just about everyone except Jack Sock and Sam Querrey, the duo they so narrowly defeated.
But none of that means the sport should ignore what transpired in Prague in an O2 Arena that was sold out for all five sessions, drawing 83,273 fans during the event’s three days. Next stop: the United Center in Chicago in September 2018.
“You’ve got to be an idiot if you don’t think this is something that could be great for tennis,” said John McEnroe, the former world No. 1 who was a very engaged and sometimes profane captain for Team World. “I can’t imagine there’s a player that played — or didn’t play, for that matter, and watched it — who wouldn’t think this is something we should be supporting.”
That sounded like heatof-the- moment optimism in a sport that remains deeply and perhaps permanently fragmented, with too many management companies and governing bodies guarding their piece of the action and gumming up the work of change.
The Laver Cup certainly had more global reach this week than low- level ATP Events. Still, we will only know whether this competition really has legs when it tries to to thrive without Federer and Nadal near the peaks of their power; it remains to be seen whether the will and paycheques remain big enough through the years to draw the best players of future generations.
But the quality of the spectacle and the depth of the emotions were real in Prague.
“The only way it was ever going to be successful is if the players cared, and they did,” Federer said. “I think you see it. I think you see the happiness.”
The dejection, too. Kyrgios dropped to one knee shortly after his final forehand slammed into the net against Federer, and he was soon in tears, surrounded by supportive Team World compadres.
“When I’m playing for myself, sometimes I don’t put the greatest effort in,” Kyrgios said. “It just hurt, because I knew I didn’t want to let these guys down.”
Team World, whose only unifying quality is that its players must not be from Europe, could end up with an identity problem down the road. But it won the camaraderie competition this time, and did so partly with teen spirit.
Newest Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov was a member of Team World.