While the upcoming US Open tops his to-do list, Stefanos Tsitsipas cannot help but get excited about next month’s Laver Cup in London which will mark the return to tennis of Roger Federer.
Tsitsipas, weekend Cincinnati finalist to Borna Coric, has never passed the third round in New York and opens as fourth seed against a qualifier.
But it’s the Laver tournament in London that has the Greek keen. Federer is due to play at the three-day event September 22-25 at the O2 Arena as part of Team Europe.
That squad coached by Bjorn Borg holds the overwhelming advantage against john McEnoe’s World side, with the Euro lineup to include not only Federer but Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Andy Murray.
By contrast, World can only boast a ragtag lineup comprising Felix Auger-Aliassime, Diego Schwartzman, Alex de Minaur, John Isner and the like.
“Our team lineup is a joke, this is Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls. I’m more than honored to be part of this team,” Tsitsipas said on Friday.
“I honestly don’t know what Roger’s status is, but I’m more than happy to see him back on court.”Tsitsipas expects to be inspired once again by the iconic Swiss player.
“What a privilege to have him in the team, playing hopefully the first singles match.
“I learned so much from these greats. I get to share something very meaningful with them through the course of a three-day performance period.
“We get to connect and share such great ideas on court, off court, be part of something very extraordinary for our sport.”
