LAVER CUP Press Release, August 18, 2021
World No.2 Daniil Medvedev, 2021 Roland Garros finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 3), Olympic Gold medallist Alexander Zverev (No.5), Andrey Rublev (No. 7) and Casper Ruud (No. 11) will represent Team Europe at this year’s Laver Cup to be held at TD Garden in Boston from September 24-26.
The players will join Wimbledon finalist and world No.8 Matteo Berrettini to complete the team, following the withdrawal of Roger Federer due to knee surgery and Dominic Thiem with an ongoing wrist injury. Team Europe’s line-up will feature six of the world’s top 11 players.
“I’m really disappointed to be missing this year’s Laver Cup,” Federer said. “Team Europe has an incredible line-up though and I wish them all the very best as they go for their fourth Laver Cup win.”
Medvedev, a winner at last week’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto and runner-up at this year’s Australian Open, will make his Laver Cup debut in Boston and is looking forward to the experience.
“I’m really excited to be representing Team Europe in the Laver Cup this year,” Medvedev said.
“Playing as part of a team is special for us, as we don’t get the chance to do that often. I’m also looking forward to being on the same side of the net for once with some of my biggest rivals on the tour!”
Currently sitting at a career high No.3 in the world rankings, 23-year-old Tsitsipas is the highest ranked Greek player in history and his run to the final at Roland Garros made him the country’s first ever Grand Slam finalist. He made his Laver Cup debut in 2019 in Geneva.
“It is great being a part of Team Europe again and I look forward to playing in Boston,” Tsitsipas said.
Zverev, a fixture in the top 10 for the past four years, has been part of Team Europe’s winning Laver Cup team since the inaugural event in Prague in 2017.
The German played a crucial role in both the 2018 and 2019 competition, winning the deciding match in both events to secure victory for Team Europe.
“I feel honored to be part of Team Europe for the Laver Cup once again,” Zverev said.
“I have so many incredible memories from the event and particularly that final match in Geneva in 2019.”
Rublev, a former junior champion at Roland Garros, broke into the world’s top 10 in October last year and currently sits at a career high No.7. He won an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in the mixed doubles with partner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and will be making his Laver Cup debut in Boston.
“I’ve heard great things about the Laver Cup and can’t wait to be a part of it. It’s going to be an amazing feeling to compete at TD Garden,” Rublev said.
Former World No.1 junior Casper Ruud will also make his Laver Cup debut in Boston. The highest ranked Norwegian in the history of the game currently sits at No.11 in the rankings.
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to represent Team Europe in this year’s Laver Cup. It is a huge honor to play with such an accomplished group of fellow players and being under the guidance of our captain, Bjorn Borg,” Ruud said. “I am looking forward to the challenge and will do all I can to contribute the best I can and bring home the win for us this year!”
Team Europe Captain, Bjorn Borg is confident ahead of his “most important week of the year”.
“We have a great team this year, with six of the top eleven, I like our chances,” Borg said.
“It’s never easy and we’ve been fortunate to keep our winning streak, but the pressure is on for us to defend our title. Team World is hungry.”
Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman and Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime have been named in John McEnroe’s Team World so far. The remaining three players will be announced this week.
