Laver Cup

Anyone following Laver Cup - https://lavercup.com/watch-live ?

Have seen a couple of matches and we're now into the last one, Federer v Kyrgios.

It's come down to the wire because a win for Kyrgios would see the overall scores tied and then a doubles playoff to decide the Cup winner. A win by Federer and it's then Europe 15 - World 9 (I think ....?)

Quite apart from the scores, I'm nothing less than astonished at the extent to which the players have bought into this new concept. They are seriously motivated and enthused, and have been talking about a genuine team spirit. It's almost as if it has taken on all the aura of a Ryder Cup contest - and yet this is a totally new event. Amazing, and I doubt anyone thought it would get off to such a start in its inaugural year.

In a titanic battle, Federer comes from a set down to beat Kyrgios and grab the 3 points needed for a Cup win by Europe. He is feted by fellow team members  - most notably of all, by Rafa - as the hero in the decisive closing match.

Huge crowds turned out in Prague for this event, which seems set for a solid future, given the infectious enthusiasm of the players themselves.

The organisers couldn't have wished for more. Bet they can hardly believe their good fortune.

The European players were ranked 1,2,4,5,7,19 and the rest of world 16,17,20,21,51,72, bit of a mismatch.

Rankings alone are only part of the story. We know this from many, many Davis Cup matches - not least where doubles are involved, as they were here.

The scoreline going into the very last match (12-9) doesn't really point to a 'mismatch' in reality - even though it might have done on paper. World Group came within a match point of pulling off an impressive draw. Federer just edged it - against a very pumped-up, energised Kyrgios - to take the vital 3 remaining available points, and the Cup itself.

Nadal v Isner might have seemed a 'mismatch', given that their h2h was 6-0. And yet Isner fought hard for a fine win, thus making the closing match (Kyrgios v Federer) a tense decider.

Kyrgios was actually tearful at the end, so safe to say this really meant something to him. Nadal's reaction at Fed's win was positively ecstatic (and you sure don't see that very often ..... )

Interestingly, this seems to have caught some posters' attention whilst the Davis Cup semi-final wins for France and Belgium attracted no comments - sign of things to come?

Personally I'm in favour of new innovations to the game in theory but I do think the schedule is pretty packed and accommodating new events without cutting back elsewhere is problematic.  Maybe just maybe though the Laver Cup could prove to be more successful innovation than say Superset, and could it perhaps eclipse the Davis Cup?  Sounds like its had a successful start - will be interesting to see if it builds on this next year.

lags72 wrote:Rankings alone are only part of the story. We know this from many, many Davis Cup matches - not least where doubles are involved, as they were here.

The scoreline going into the very last match (12-9) doesn't really point to a 'mismatch' in reality - even though it might have done on paper. World Group came within a match point of pulling off an impressive draw. Federer just edged it - against a very pumped-up, energised Kyrgios - to take the vital 3 remaining available points, and the Cup itself.

Nadal v Isner might have seemed a 'mismatch', given that their h2h was 6-0. And yet Isner fought hard for a fine win, thus making the closing match (Kyrgios v Federer) a tense decider.

Kyrgios was actually tearful at the end, so safe to say this really meant something to him. Nadal's reaction at Fed's win was positively ecstatic (and you sure don't see that very often ..... )

Pretty one-sided really. 7-2 in singles is quite a hammering and only the gimmicky scoring system kept the match live heading into the final match. That said, the players clearly bought into it and it was very slickly put together. Looks to have a future.

Was definitely a good watch. Kyrgios was really involved - he spoke about how he gets more motivated as part of a team.

Having Fed and Rafa involved gave it a lot of credibility, also the chance to see them play doubles together was quite a big deal. If the top players remain interested then it could grow some legs and become like the Ryder Cup.

Guest82 wrote:Was definitely a good watch.  

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Having Fed and Rafa involved gave it a lot of credibility, also the chance to see them play doubles together was quite a big deal.  If the top players remain interested then it could grow some legs and become like the Ryder Cup.

I'd say on this first showing there is every chance of the event establishing itself as a solid calendar fixture.

Certainly the NextGen guys such as Zverev and Shapovalov seemed every bit as motivated as members of the old brigade.

I was VERY surprised at both spectator numbers and the sheer enthusiasm of all competitors.

I tuned in to watch the Fedal team and there was good tennis there. 16k crowd turnout for tennis is just amazing. I hope this continues. it feels less commercial than the event Bhupathi organises. this very much feels like Federer's baby. it has the slickness.

Just been watching highlights of Fed v Kyrgios in Laver Cup. I know this was an exhibition match in effect, but there was some sparkling tennis. If you didn't know, you'd think you were watching a vital Davis Cup match or the business end of a major tournament.
   Must say that both Fed and Kyrgios looked in good form.

Already scheduled for Chicago in 2018 apparently.

Perhaps the idea is to take it to cities that don't traditionally get to host top-level events on the ATP circuit.

(so Grimsby in 2019 perhaps ....?)

Problem may be that it is currently really just a Federer, and to a lesser degree Nadal, tribute event. Take them out of it and how many people would be interested. Not a lot would be my guess. Wouldn't have got a mention on here I would bet. It may be that players like Zverev and Shapovalov can pick up the mantle at some stage but only time will tell.

If it does continue after Federer retires from the main tour I would not be surprised if it incorporates a seniors element which would allow him still to play and therefore guarantee the exposure that it would need.

coolpixel wrote:I tuned in to watch the Fedal team and there was good  tennis there. 16k crowd turnout for tennis is just amazing.  I hope this continues. it feels less commercial than the event Bhupathi organises.  this very much feels like Federer's baby. it has the slickness.

Based on the crowds for the Federer exhibition tour of South America he is mega box-office whatever he does, and I assume Nadal as well although I am not aware of similar evidence in his case as for Federer's tour.

Funny thing is, once Fedal have gone the matches may be more even, so whilst the box-office effect of those two may drop, the quality of the match as a competitive spectacle may go up so long as the player buy-in stays (do they get paid?). I'd assume that Federer will always be a promoter, so he may be able to strong-arm people into playing for a while yet until it gets established. Golf has a very good relationship between 'legends' and current players, maybe there's room for tennis to work on that?

Personally it's an irrelevance, and if I were the ITF I'd not be encouraging yet more competition vs. Davis Cup. However, I have the luxury of living in London with (currently) three big events a year. Maybe if I lived in Prague I'd think differently - the venue is likely to be important for its survival.

Calder106 wrote:Problem may be that it is currently really just a Federer, and to a lesser degree Nadal, tribute event. Take them out of it and how many people would be interested. Not a lot would be my guess. Wouldn't have got a mention on here I would bet. It may be that players like Zverev and Shapovalov can pick up the mantle at some stage but only time will tell.

If it does continue after Federer retires from the main tour I would not be surprised if it incorporates a seniors element which would allow him still to play and therefore guarantee the exposure that it would need.

That is probably a wider problem for tennis as a whole - once Fedal are gone popularity will likely decrease.

If the top players play and show similar commitment to this year then I can see it being a big tennis event.