Carlos Alcaraz will make his Laver Cup debut later this year, and he admitted that he's going to be a bit nervous when meeting Roger Federer.
The Laver Cup is a pretty unique competition because it makes teammates out of rivals. For much of the year, players compete as individuals on the ATP Tour and are rivals on the court, and sometimes also off of it.
Even when they do play in team competitions, most of them remain rivals because they are not from the same country. The Laver Cup changes that as it pairs up the best players into teams based on continents, not countries, making teammates out of rivals.
Where else would you see Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic play on the same side of the net? This year, Alcaraz will participate in the competition for the first time.
He has been coveted for a while but didn't sign up until this year. He was actually the first one to commit to playing for Team Europe in Berlin, which shows how strongly they pursued him.
Federer, who is one of co-owners, talked about bringing Alcaraz multiple times, so it wasn't a surprising announcement, when he was the first player to commit to the tournament.
There is added motive for Team Europe this year beuase Team Europe lost last year in Vancouver. We already know a few names that will help Alcaraz in that regard, and it's going to be a really interesting tournament.
He was asked about it by Ole before the 2024 Argentina Open, admitting he'll be a bit nervous when meeting Federer. He'll be around the Swiss Maestro for much of the event, and he's never really had a chance to spend so much time with the legend whom he admired growing up.
"I don't know if I'm going to ask for advice, but I hope I can think of something to ask. What I am sure is that I will get very nervous, that is very clear. I would like to have a little time to talk to him, chat a little, I have never had the chance and I would love to."
There are many months until then, but now, the 20-year-old will focus on his return to tennis at the Argentina Open this week.
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