Borg On Team Europe: 'This Is The Future Of Tennis'
Team Europe Captain Bjorn Borg is excited for the fourth edition of the Laver Cup. It doesn’t hurt that his team consists of six of the Top 10 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings.
“I’m very happy to have my team here. This is the future of tennis,” Borg said. “For us to be together, and with the team spirit, we are ready to play this weekend. The first day, we have six good players here. Doesn't really matter which one is playing. It's going to be a tough competition.”
The Swedish legend, who is joined by Vice Captain Thomas Enqvist, knows that despite his loaded roster, defeating Team World will not be easy. In 2019, the Laver Cup came down to the final match, in which Alexander Zverev beat Milos Raonic.
“Every win is very important. That's why we are here. We are going to try to defend our title,” Borg said. “Every match has been very close since Prague. I think we have not been lucky, but we have been handling the situation very well, and that's what we're going to do this time too. But for sure, it's going to be very, very difficult.”
Zverev has competed in the past three editions of the Laver Cup, tallying a 5-1 singles record. The German, who won the Tokyo Olympics gold medal and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, is ready for a good atmosphere at TD Garden.
“The crowd is going to be against us maybe a little bit. But we are who we are. We are six Top 10 players sitting here. A lot of us are in incredible form right now. We do know that we are the favourites,” Zverev said. “I think everybody is looking forward to it. Everybody is looking forward to the challenge, and we'll see how it goes.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas acknowledged that the American crowd will likely be behind Team World. But the Greek said his team’s only focus will be on producing the best possible tennis.
“That's our ultimate goal and plan,” Tsitsipas said. “Of course, the crowd is not in our favour. This is something that we are expecting. We're going to fight against it and try and prove ourselves with our game. At the end of the day, our tennis is what counts the most.”
Team Europe veterans are making their new teammates feel at home at the Laver Cup, as the players got excited when Andrey Rublev, who is at a career-high World No. 5, was asked a question during Thursday’s press conference.
In past editions of this event, fans have enjoyed seeing the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal coaching their teammates on the bench during matches. Who does Rublev expect help from?
“All of them know how to play tennis, what is inside, how we feel, how each player is going to feel,” Rublev said. “All of us can give advice if someone sees something from outside the court. Plus we have Bjorn and Thomas, such legends, and they know everything better than us, and so I think in this case everyone is amazing.”