The 2023 edition of the Laver Cup was very disappointing for some of the fans, which makes next year a hugely important one for the competition.
The Laver Cup emerged as a fascinating competition with some of the world's best players treaming up. Where else could you see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play for the same team? Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal playing doubles together?
It was mostly reserved for exhibitions, and those were rarely played with full force. Well, enter Roger Federer. Swinging a racket isn't his only strong suit, as he has a pretty solid business mind.
Part of that is being surrounded by very competent people for a very long time, which allowed him to observe and learn. He devised the idea of the Laver Cup and put it into practice.
The result? It was a magnificent competition that had players and fans buzzing every year. It being a rotational event certainly helped the appeal, but the main selling point was he - Roger Federer.
He played every year and usually had either Nadal or Djokovic by his side, as well as some other big names. Unfortunately, with the 2022 edition, that ended. It was the first and only Laver Cup that featured the Big Three together.
It was Federer's retirement event, and with him, some of the appeal died; it's pretty undeniable. All you need to see is this year's edition. There was no Federer, at least not in playing capacity. There was no Rafael Nadal, and there was no Novak Djokovic.
It's pretty unlikely they will ever play again at the competition because there is very little incentive to do so. The edition itself was devoid of star power, and it was felt. There was not a lot of buzz or coverage for the event, which put the competition at risk.
It will continue for as long as there is interest in it, and the inverse is also true. This year's edition demonstrated that well. So what's the next step? Well, they already did it.
Carlos Alcaraz signed up for 2024, and he did that very early. The appearance fee of the Spaniard is pretty high, but the event needed to make a splash. Despite it being in a very bad spot in the calendar (post-US Open), Carlos Alcaraz signed up.
He's going to be the main selling point, and everybody knows it. The organizers knew it, which is why they made the move months ahead. We've never had a player sign up so early in the season, which just shows how urgent it was.
They simply need a strong showing in Berlin, and they should get it. Home player Alexander Zverev will likely be there, and they need some other big names to join him.
Some that immediately come up are the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, and Holger Rune for Team Europe, while showmen such as Frances Tiafoe and Nick Kyrgios will also be essential for Team World.
All in all, the 2024 Laver Cup will be very important for the event's future. If the tournament once again fails to deliver, fans may slowly but surely forget about it, but if it's going to be a star-filled tournament with many Top 10 matchups, the future may be bright.
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