Laver Cup, Day 1: Ruud opens, Federer and Nadal turn out the lights
Casper Ruud and Jack Sock will open the Laver Cup 2022 (from 2 p.m. live on Eurosport). Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal conclude the day many hours later.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Sep 22, 2022, 10:16 pm
The mood is good in Team Welt, at least the inclined observers of the Laver Cup have not heard anything else. Perhaps also because one generally hears very little from John McEnroe's men. All the attention is on the Europeans. And again, mainly with Roger Federer. The Maestro will play his last professional tennis match this Friday evening alongside Rafael Nadal against Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe. Of course, Federer still has a feeling for the ball, which he demonstrated in a relaxed table tennis match with Diego Schwartzman in fine twine.
So it starts at 2 p.m. MSZ today in the O2 Arena, Casper Ruud will start against Jack Sock. Victories are gladly accepted in this early phase, defeats don't hurt that much: on the first day you get one point for each success, on Saturday two, and then three on the final day.
Federer and Nadal in the night session
Stefanos Tsitsipas follows in the second match of the day session, the Greek has to play against Diego Schwartzman. According to the results of the last few weeks, it is not easy to identify a favorite role here, in game number one Ruud could have the edge. However, in the Laver Cup, a match tiebreak is played instead of a third set. The disadvantage in terms of fitness shouldn't be an issue for Sock.
In the evening (from 8 p.m. CEST) Andy Murray will make his debut at the Laver Cup. And this, despite the shorter format, could be a longer affair. Because the Scot plays against Alex de Minaur, extensive rallies are almost inevitable.
The grand finale is then reserved for the boss personally: After Murray and de Minaur, Roger Federer says goodbye, as expected alongside Rafael Nadal. And the best places have been assigned to Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. Ready to go.