Thiem joins Team Europe

World number eight Dominic Thiem is the latest star to pledge allegiance to Team Europe for the first edition of the Laver Cup, to be held in Prague from 22-24 September 2017.

The 23-year-old is currently enjoying a rich vein of form, most notably as the only player to defeat Rafael Nadal on clay this season. It was a case of ‘third time lucky’ for Thiem, who lost to the Spanish King of Clay in the finals of both Madrid and Barcelona, before managing a straight-sets win in the quarterfinals at Rome.

Thiem followed that performance with his first career win over Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, at Roland Garros. Nadal stopped his run in the semifinals.

Only Nadal sits above Thiem in numbers of matches won this season, and with eight career ATP titles to his name already, the Austrian is widely regarded as the ‘Next Gen’ player to watch.

“I’m honored and proud to join Rafa and Roger, two of the greatest players of all time, and play for Team Europe at the Laver Cup,” Thiem said.

“I’ve played Rafa four times just in the past few weeks, and Roger three times last year so it will be an incredible experience to be on the same side of the net as teammates, playing together and cheering each other on. It’s going to be an awesome event.”

Team Europe’s captain Björn Borg is now half way to completing his six-man team to tackle Team World, who will be led by seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe.

“Team Europe is shaping up to be a tennis powerhouse, with a resurgent Roger and Rafa, and now one of the best young players on the tour in Dominic Thiem,” Borg said.

“Dominic has had an incredible season so far and is without doubt one of the rising stars of the game. Not only will he benefit enormously from the chance to work so closely with some of the best players tennis has ever seen, but the fans will see one of the best young players in action at the Laver Cup.”

The Laver Cup will be played on one court over three days at the O₂ arena in Prague, Czech Republic, in September 2017, with a mixture of singles and doubles matches.

The tournament is named in honor of Australian legend Rod Laver, whose achievement in winning a calendar-year Grand Slam twice – both as an amateur and a professional – set the benchmark for greatness in world tennis.