Carlos Alcaraz will play at the 2024 Laver Cup for the first time in his life, and he's excited about the competition even though it will be a bit weird.
The Laver Cup is fairly unique in its capability to bring together bitter rivals in a competitive format. It's a competition in which fans saw Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray compete on the same team, which has never happened before.
It happened in 2022 when Federer retired from the sport, and it was a spectacular moment. Every year, fans can see rivals come together on one team, and this year, Alcaraz will finally get a chance to play with some players that he's beaten in some big matches before.
He beat Daniil Medvedev in the Wimbledon semi-final earlier this year, and now he'll play with him for Team Europe. The 21-year-old also beat Alexander Zverev in the Roland Garros final earlier this year. Now they'll be playing on the same team.
That's why Alcaraz called the situation 'weird' when previewing the tournament, as he has never found himself in a similar environment. Still, he's excited about the tournament because he considers the Laver Cup an important and prestigious event.
"I love it and I wanted to be part of it. It’s a serious competition. I think we have to represent Europe, you know, in the best way possible. The prestige that this tournament has, and, being a Laver Cup champion is a huge thing.".
"We are going to laugh a lot, I’m sure about it. Having a lot of time with them and speaking with them about something else, not only tennis, is going to be different … and I like different things."
Having Team Europe play against Team World, a concept known from many other sports, makes the tournament very unique but also quite interesting for Alcaraz, who enjoys different experiences.
Another thing he will be looking forward to is seeing tennis legend Bjorn Borg up close. The Swede was one of the most brilliant tennis players of his time, and he certainly has lots to say about the sport.
Alcaraz is curious to hear what Borg has to say as a coach, as this will be the last time that he coaches Team Europe, since Yannick Noah will take over as Team Europe's captain next year, and Andre Agassi will take over Team World from John McEnroe.
"He was one of the players that bring tennis to the top of the sport. A legend from tennis and from the sport in general. My dad is a huge fan of him as well. So being, you know, a coach from Bjorn Borg is going to be a really important moment for me, for my career, for my life."
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