Dynamic duo

Federer, Nadal to team up in Laver Cup

NEW YORK — Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have faced each other in eight major finals, plan to team up as doubles partners next year during the inaugural Laver Cup.

With a combined 31 Grand Slam titles, Federer and Nadal have committed to the team event, which attempts to create a tennis version of golf's Ryder Cup. Named for Australian great Rod Laver, the competition pitting a squad of European men's players against a group from the rest of the world was first announced in January. On Wednesday, organizers said the first edition would be held in Prague on Sept. 22-24, 2017, indoors at the O2 Arena. Former rivals Bjorn Borg of Sweden (Europe) and John McEnroe of the U.S. (World team) will serve as captains for the first three years. Laver, Borg, McEnroe, Federer and Nadal — accounting for 60 major singles titles — gathered at a Man- hattan hotel Wednesday for the announcements.

The plan is for the Laver Cup to be held annually, except during Olympic years, two weeks after the U.S. Open, with the location rotating. There will be six men on each team: four based on the rankings after Wimbledon, and two captain's picks announced after the U.S. Open.

There will be 12 matches played over three days (nine singles and three doubles), with the number of points awarded for victories increasing each day. Each player will take the court once or twice for singles, with at least four of the six taking part

in doubles.

(AP) FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2014, file photo, Rafael Nadal of Spain, right, and Roger Federer of Switzerland pose at the net before their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia. Federer and Nadal say they plan to play...