Laver Cup 2021: One-Sided But Fun

I used to be a sucker for entertainment. And entertainment meant those thrilling last-ball finishes in cricket, those final set tiebreaks in tennis and all those nerve-jangling moments that give you a ride of a lifetime.

But as I grew up, I began to admire solid matchplay. If you know what it takes to ignore a vociferous crowd rooting for your opponent, what it takes to not get affected by the grandness of the occasion and to come out and finish the job, you know what a sportsman is.

The Laver Cup of Tennis began in 2017, brainchild of Rod Laver, arguably the greatest of all time, where teams from Europe and Rest of the World go against each other in an exciting format over a period of 3 days. Captains and retired greats Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe make decisions on whom to play in which conditions and against which opponent.

This year, in 2021, the tournament was played in Boston (home of Team World) and it ended with Europe winning the competition for the fourth time in a row. The scoreline read 14–1, which sounds like a drubbing, but the format allows drastic comebacks which were very much possible even on Day 3 on Sunday.

Europe had some of the best singles players (inside the top 10) in their team with the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and recent US Open winner Daniil Medvedev. Although the legend trio of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal was missing from this year’s edition, the glitz was very much intact.

Matches at the Laver Cup are played on a black carpet surface that is pleasing to the eye and makes for some very exciting action under the lights with big LCD screens, and roaring spectators. It is probably the only contest apart from the Davis Cup where we get to see top men’s players sit alongside, lending each other support and advice.

The result was one-sided in the end but some of the composure that Team Europe players showed against dangerous opponents such as Nick Kyrgios, John Isner and Denis Shapovalov was exemplary. Tennis has high stakes in terms of prize money and possible sponsorships upon winning, and therefore I usually see players give their all on the court. It is very easy to get overcome by the situation and lose your cool (believe me, try playing competitively and you’ll know).

It was somewhat expected that in Team World’s home conditions and with the talent around, Team Europe players will buckle under the pressure. But they didn’t, and that’s what makes sports interesting!