By Tennis Now | @nnis_Now | Thursday, April 11, 2024
Team World will bring back the Demon defense in its bid to three-peat as Laver Cup champion.
World captain John McEnroe has named Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul to his squad, which will play for a third straight Laver Cup crown against Team Europe at the Uber Arena in Berlin from September 20-22.
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The trio were part of Team World’s historic first Laver Cup victory at The O2 in London in 2022. Fritz and Paul were also part of the victorious team last year in Vancouver.
Team Europe Captain Bjorn Borg has already named three of the biggest stars in tennis to his six-man roster – World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz, World No.4 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 5 Alexander Zverev.
This will be the final year that Borg and McEnroe will go head-to-head as Laver Cup team captains, having held the roles since the inaugural Laver Cup in 2017 in Prague.
“Bjorn has had a really strong start to his lineup this year, so it’s great to have Alex, Taylor and Tommy back on the team again,” said McEnroe. “They have performed well in this competition, have been great team members, and know what it takes to win.
“We’ve had some epic Laver Cup battles over the years. With this being our final year, both Bjorn and I will be pulling out all the stops to get the victory.”
De Minaur, nicknamed “Demon”, has had an impressive start to 2024, breaking into the top 10 for the first time after back-to-back wins against Fritz, Novak Djokovic and Zverev at the United Cup in January. He backed that up a few weeks later by winning his eighth ATP Tour title in Acapulco.
“Being part of the Laver Cup in London was incredible and I’m honored to be back on Captain McEnroe’s team once again,” said de Minaur. “We will have a fight on our hands with an impressive roster of Team Europe players so far, but I love the team environment and we will give it everything we’ve got to pull off the win for Team World.”
Berlin will be the fourth Laver Cup call-up for American Fritz, who currently sits at No.13 on the PIF ATP Rankings. His victory at the ATP Tour event in Delray Beach in February 2023 saw him achieve a career-high ranking of No.5, becoming the first American in the Top 5 since 2009. He captured the Delray Beach title once again this year beating compatriot Paul in the final.
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