Mats Wilander: 'Roger Federer is passionate about Laver Cup, it keeps him running'

The fourth edition of the Laver Cup takes place between September 24-26, 2021, in Boston's TD Garden. Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem have been confirmed for Team Europe, with more players from the top ready to join two squads in the upcoming months. The event should have taken place in September this year, but it had to be rescheduled due to the coronavirus, with the organizers hoping to stage another great tournament in ten months. Mats Wilander believes that the Laver Cup is one factor that drives Roger Federer to extend his career and compete for a couple of more years. In Geneva 2019, Team Europe prevailed against Team World in the deciding match, keeping the trophy in their cabinet and making a proper celebration out of it. After the opening two encounters of the final day, Team World had the edge over their rivals, and it was Roger Federer who had to defeat John Isner to keep Team Europe alive.

The Swiss prevailed in two close sets to reduce the deficit and switch the attention to Alexander Zverev, who battled against Milos Raonic in the winner-take-all encounter. Of course, it had to go down to the wire, and the German emerged at the top in the match tie break to secure the title for Team Europe for the second year in a row, wrapping up an incredible competition that highlighted tennis news during that weekend. Roger has played 11 Laver Cup matches so far, winning all six in singles and delivering two triumphs from five doubles clashes, sharing the court with his greatest rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Mats Wilander believes that Roger Federer wants to play Laver Cup for more years.

Roger is hoping for a fresh start in 2021 after missing almost the entire season behind us, competing only at the Australian Open and experiencing an injury setback after that. In February, Roger underwent knee surgery, planning to come back in June but still struggling with the pain. The Swiss went for another surgery in May, deciding to skip the rest of the year and focus on 2021. Federer is currently in Dubai, working hard on his game and trying to get ready for the Australian Open that starts in February.

"In my opinion, the Laver Cup drives Roger Federer; he gets much more exciting than while playing the Davis Cup. Roger knows he can play the Laver Cup for another four or five years, with best-of-three encounters and thrilling doubles encounters. Roger owns the Laver Cup and I think he wants to stay in shape and give his best every time he plays it. I believe his goals in 2021 are the Olympic Games and the Laver Cup," Mats Wilander said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Wyxqto