The world of tennis has spread its wing to welcome a new tournament – The Laver Cup. Named after the tennis legend Rod Laver, it is a men’s tennis tournament which is played on an indoor hardcourt. In its inaugural edition, the cup saw two teams battling it out for the top prize. It was Team Europe v/s Team World where the latter constituted of non-European players. With the first chapter of the Laver Cup recently concluded, there were several defining moments of this event. Before we get there, let us first have a look at the format of the game.
The format of Laver Cup:
The competition pits top six European players against six of their counterparts from the rest of the world. As 12 matches are scheduled over 3 days, the points awarded for winning increase with each passing day. Each player takes the court at least once or twice for singles. Whereas minimum four of the six players have to pitch in for the doubles.
All the matches played are three setters with a 10 point tie break. Another unique aspect of Laver cup is that the games are played on a black hard court. Believe it or not, this setting brings forth a different sense of feeling altogether. Not to forget the better visibility of the ball.
Tennis stars battle it out:
Starting off the proceedings, Marin Cilic was pitched against Frances Tiafoe where the former’s win put Europe on board. Hereafter, there were two victories on the trot for them before Team World managed to fetch a win. At the end of day 1, Team Europe led 3-1.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played as doubles partners for the first time on the second day of the Cup. All eyes were on these superstars coming together to play. Not only they played well but eventually won their tie to strengthen Europe’s position. They also had won their previous singles encounter during earlier in the day.
However, it could be anybody’s game in the last encounter. Even though Team Europe was leading 12-9, a win by Team World would make it 12 all. Aware of this fact, Federer and Kyrgios put up a wonderful challenge in front of each other. But in the end, the World No. 2 clinched a thrilling tie-breaker to take Team Europe home. Yes, the Europeans were the maiden champions of the Laver Cup.