Roger Federer hails addition of Laver Cup to official ATP Calendar, calls tournament a 'true celebration of tennis'

Paris: Roger Federer on Friday hailed the “wonderful” addition of the Laver Cup, one of three men’s tennis team events, to the official ATP calendar. [caption id=“attachment_6696081” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Roger Federer. Reuters[/caption] The tournament, inspired by golf’s Ryder Cup, pits teams from Europe and the ‘rest of the world’ against each other and was first held in 2017. It will be in competition with the revamped Davis Cup and the ATP World Team Cup. “As I come closer to the end of my playing career, it’s wonderful to know that the Laver Cup will be part of the tour that I’ve dedicated more than 20 years of my life to,” said the 37-year-old Federer in a statement after the announcement that the Laver Cup would be added to the ATP Tour. This year’s edition will be held in Geneva from 20-22 September, with Bjorn Borg’s Team Europe the defending champions after defeating the John McEnroe-led Team World in 2018 in Chicago. World number one Novak Djokovic played in the Laver Cup last year, but has also been one of the driving forces behind bringing back the ATP World Team Cup. “The Laver Cup is a true celebration of tennis that is loved by the fans and embraced by the players,” said the 15-time Grand Slam champion. The inaugural Davis Cup finals — which have replaced the World Group after funding from Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique’s investment company Kosmos — will be held in November in Madrid, while Sydney will host the first World Team Cup finals next year.