Laver Cup 2017: Everything you need to know about the Roger Federer conceived tournament

Laver Cup in its inaugural edition brings together the best men’s players together. (Source: Instagram)

Laver Cup, named after the legendary Rod Laver, is a tennis tournament to be played in golf’s Ryder Cup format pitting teams from Europe and World spread over three days. The tournament is the brain child of Roger Federer and his foundation and it pits the best six players from World against the best six players from Europe. Unlike the Indian Premier Tennis League (IPTL) or Champions Tennis League (CTL), this one has drawn more interest from the players mostly due to Federer’s affiliation and the fact that it is only for three days.

What is the format of the Laver Cup?

Laver Cup features both singles and doubles matches with three singles and a doubles match to be played everyday. All matches are best of three sets with ad scoring. At one set all, there will be a 10-point tiebreaker.

Each player will play either one or two singles matches throughout the tournament and at least four of the six team members will play doubles.

A big point to be considered here is that matches played on Sunday are worth more than the matches played on Friday or Saturday. A win on Friday is worth one point, win on Saturday is two points and on Sunday it is three points. At the end of the three day extravaganza, if both teams are locked at 12-12 points each, a doubles match—played as a regular set with ad scoring and a tiebreak—will decide the winner on Sunday.

As an added tidbit, the matches will be played on black hard court. Yes, black hard court.

Which players will feature in the Laver Cup?

Now for the big attraction in the tournament. One can see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play doubles together – maybe on the Sunday. Team Europe includes Federer, Nadal, Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Tomas Berdych. On the other side, Team World comprises of Jack Sock, Nick Kyrgios, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Frances Tiafoe and Denis Shapovalov. American Tiafoe has been roped in following the pull out by Juan Martin del Potro due to injury.

Bjorn Borg and Thomas Enqvist are the captain and vice captain, respectively, for Team Europe, with Team World led by John McEnroe and Patrick McEnroe.

When is the Laver Cup?

The Laver Cup begins on Friday, September 22 and runs until Sunday, September 24. The tournament will be played on an annual basis and is planned to be held every year two weeks after the US Open ends. Considering the tough schedule, the tournament will not take place in Olympic years.

Where is the Laver Cup going to be played?

The Laver Cup in the inaugural year will be played at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. Next year the plan is to take the tournament to somewhere in the United States.

Where can I watch the Laver Cup in India?

The Laver Cup will be available on TV in India on D Sport – Discovery’s Sports channel.

What time does Laver Cup begin and at what times in IST?

The session will be spread across two time slots. Play begins at 1 PM Prague time or 4.30 PM IST with two singles matches to be played in the afternoon session. The evening session begins at 7 PM Prague time or 10.30 PM IST with a singles match and a doubles match to be played. On Sunday, there are no separate sessions with play to begin at 12 PM Prague time or 3.30 PM IST.