A chorus of approval for San Francisco

As the euphoria died down on the Laver Cup’s eighth edition, one thing was clear: San Francisco exceeded expectations.

From the player visits to the city’s landmarks to the state-of-the-art Chase Center and a sellout, tennis-loving crowd, San Francisco rose to the occasion as magnificently as the Golden State Bridge.

Perhaps no one appreciated the impact of the Laver Cup coming to San Francisco more than victorious Team World Captain Andre Agassi, who competed in the Bay Area in the early 1990s on an indoor carpet at the start of the year. “A lot of good results here,” recalled the eight-time major champion, who won the tournament in 1990 and 1993. “It came at a great time of the year. For a good chunk of those years, every year that it was played here, I actually never played Australia, so it was a great way for me to get started in the year with not just a perfect environment indoors, but in the Bay Area.”

Agassi fell in love with the city and lived in Marin County for six years before relocating to Las Vegas. When the tournament moved to San Jose in 1994, big-time international tennis disappeared — until the Laver Cup came along.

“San Francisco has only one drawback – it’s hard to leave.” — Rudyard Kipling. 

“We got a great city in our world that hasn’t had the chance to have this level of tennis come to the backyard,” the new Team World captain said. As part of the Laver Cup’s arrival in San Francisco, six public courts were resurfaced at McLaren Park, with funds raised over the weekend directed to the Youth Tennis Foundation and East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring.

“That to me only seems right that we can do that, both for the community, but also for tennis,” Agassi said. “I think it’s a win to have San Francisco engaged in that.” Apart from guiding Team World t0 their third victory with vice captain Pat Rafter, Agassi became nostalgic when both teams visited the Golden Gate Bridge for the traditional Laver Cup’ iconic photo’. “I used to look at that view from just the other hill. So, I miss it in a lot of ways,” he said.

Player ratings: The best of San Francisco

As Team World and Team Europe both descended on the Presidio wearing suits for the all-in photograph — with the Golden Gate Bridge draping the backdrop — teammates took a moment to share their thoughts on what makes San Francisco iconic to them. While most of the players agreed that the Golden Gate Bridge came to mind first when they thought of San Francisco, some other answers were thrown into the mix.

Still, the bridge did come out on top. “It’s not just because I’m here,” Jenson Brooksby said, “that’s the first thing I think of when someone says San Francisco.” Alex Michelsen agreed. “Definitely the Golden Gate Bridge,” he said.

Team Europe rookie Jakub Mensik didn’t want to give all the credit to the bridge, though. “I would say the bridge, but it is called the Golden State, and when the sun is shining, it is so nice to look at the view,” he said. “I would go with that.”

The prison island of Alcatraz piqued the interest of some of the players, notably Carlos Alcaraz, who was taken on a private tour of the prison facility when he arrived for Team Europe duty earlier in the week. “Alcaraz to Alcatraz,” he grinned on the ferry crossing. “It was a great experience, to be honest. Once I knew that I was coming to San Francisco, this was one of the things I wanted to do. That island has an interesting and great history, and I really wanted to know a little bit more about it. I had to go there.”

 Francisco Cerundolo first named the Golden Gate Bridge the most iconic spot in San Francisco, but switched his answer to Alcatraz. Alexander Zverev’s list of iconic candidates was long. “The scenery and the different monuments,” he said. “The Alcatraz prison and the Golden Gate Bridge. It is one of the most scenic cities in the U.S.”

Holger Rune was still starstruck after meeting Roger Federer, so while he admitted he thought of the bridge, San Francisco marked the place where he first met the 20-time Grand Slam singles champion.

Alex de Minaur was taken aback by the steep streets, which he described as “hills.”  “I’ve never experienced anything like it,” he remarked. “It doesn’t make it too easy getting my morning coffee. It is an absolute trek to get back up that hill.”