Day 1 Preview: The stage is set

The seventh edition of Laver Cup begins at Berlin’s Uber Arena on Friday as the world’s best, guided by captains John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, strive to give their teams the best possible start.

Match 1: Casper Ruud (Team Europe) vs. Francisco Cerundolo (Team World)
Time: 1pm Friday September 20, 2024

Fans can expect to be wowed by superlative shot-making during this enticing battle between the duo, who have each won three of their six meetings.

“It’s going to be a tough match,” admitted the Norwegian, who fell in straight sets to Cerundolo the last time they played on an indoor hard court in Paris last year. “We’ve had some tough battles, I’ve lost some tough matches against him.”

“We’re opening the whole Laver Cup, and I’m going to come out with a lot of energy and do my best,” said the world No. 9. “We played quite recently at the Olympics – there it went my way so I’m going to think what I did well, and try to replicate that,” he added, referencing his recent 6-3 6-4 victory.

Cerundolo, similarly, is expecting an arduous battle against the three-time Grand Slam finalist. “We know each other very well,” said the Argentine. “[I’m] super excited to open the tournament, hopefully I can bring great tennis tomorrow and get the first win for our team,” said Cerundolo, who plans on being as aggressive as possible to dictate the match and put Team World on the front foot.

“It’s a team competition, I want to win for the guys … if they are pumped up on the bench, I will be pumped up on the court.”

Match 2: Stefanos Tsitsipas (Team Europe) vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis (Team World)

A tantalizing rematch awaits, as just three weeks ago, the Australian journeyman upset Tsitsipas at the US Open, toppling the 11^th seed in a physical, sun-drenched, battle that spanned four hours.

“I would really like to get my revenge and fight for redemption in that new phase of our rivalry,” said the Greek right-hander, who will aim to dramatically improve a break-point conversion rate of 33% in New York. “It brings out the best out of me playing in this competition, and I’m hoping to deliver and provide something good for the team,” added Tsitsipas.

Kokkinakis, who is two years older than his opponent, noted that the indoor conditions will bring a different dynamic to the showdown. The big serving Australian, who slammed down 17 aces and won 78% of first serve points in their prior encounter, believes if he executes on his game plan, the match will be on his racket. “I’m going to look to the bench and hopefully play my game, hopefully there’s not too many nerves and I have fun,”  he said.

“He’s played Laver Cup before, this is my first time actually playing,” said Kokkinakis, who was an alternate on Team World in Prague in 2017. “I’m expecting he’s going to be hungry to come out and revenge that loss.”

Match 3: Grigor Dimitrov (Team Europe) vs. Alejandro Tabilo (Team World)
Time: 7pm Friday, September 20

In the first match of the night session, Laver Cup debutant Tabilo tackles the Bulgarian world No.10, who is having one of the best years of his career. Dimitrov was two points away from defeat when the pair met for the first time in March, and acknowledged he was lucky to escape that battle as the victor, and learned a little about his Chilean rival.

Tabilo is a “very tricky opponent,” said Dimitrov, acknowledging that every player at Laver Cup Berlin 2024 is at the top of their game. “I just need to stay very focused,” said the owner of one of the sport’s great one-handed backhands. “It’s a team competition, so I want to make sure that I do the best that I can and [give] points to the team.”

“I feel like my game has grown a little bit since that match,” said Tabilo of his prior battle against Dimitrov. The left-hander has secured upsets over Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov since then. “Hopefully I can come out a little bit stronger, I’m going to be watching a little bit of that match tonight and just seeing what I can do a little bit better in those moments.”

“[I’m] pretty confident…hopefully it’ll be a great show,” added Tabilo, who said Cerundolo has given him helpful advice. “I told him to enjoy, don’t put too much pressure [on yourself], just go and play your best tennis,” grinned Cerundolo.

Match 4: Carlos Alcaraz/Alexander Zverev (Team Europe) vs. Taylor Fritz/Ben Shelton (Team World)

Intriguing pairings take to the black court on Friday night, as Alcaraz and Zverev, who dueled in the Roland Garros final three months ago, face the all-American duo.

“We’re going to hit some bombs, take big swings and play really aggressive,” said Shelton. “I know that Taylor likes that game plan, and we’re going to do what we can to bring the energy and get the first doubles win for Team World.”

Alcaraz, who is making his Laver Cup debut for Team Europe on Friday night, said he’s looking forward to teaming up with Zverev. “We battled a few times this year, so [to] have the chance to play on same side of the net, it’s going to be great, going to be fun,” said the Spaniard. “Obviously with his serves and me [at] the net, it’s going to be easy work for me,” he grinned.

Zverev, who will have support from the home crowd, said it would be “extremely special” to compete alongside his younger rival. “It’s a privilege to share the court with a legend in our sport already,” said the 27-year-old.