On Sunday night, Team Europe managed to lift the Laver Cup for the third consecutive year – but who’s to blame for Team World’s failures?
The odds were already stacked against Team World, with John Isner their highest ATP-ranked player at number 20. On the flip side, Team Europe had no player below number 11, Fabio Fognini. However, given that the deciding encounter was Milos Raonic vs. Alexander Zverev, you’d be hard-pressed to think Team World didn’t make the tournament competitive. If anything, they should’ve emerged victorious. The chances of such a triumph seemed low on Friday – but by Sunday, many expected Team World to win their first Laver Cup.
If you take a deeper look at the teams, it isn’t too difficult to spot a pattern. Nick Kyrgios was the only non-North American player in the squad, with Australia’s Jordan Thompson an unused alternate. In fact, after South African Kevin Anderson’s withdrawal, Team World captain John McEnroe picked world number 30 Taylor Frtiz as his replacement. As a whole, McEnroe’s picks were rather questionable. While Isner, Kyrgios, and Raonic qualified based on their rankings, McEnroe picked number 33 Denis Shapovalov, number 30 Taylor Fritz, and number 210 Jack Sock (as a doubles specialist) to accompany them.
#TeamEurope have done it again!#LaverCuppic.twitter.com/3ODMANimRn
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 22, 2019
Alternatively, McEnroe could’ve chosen world number 8 Kei Nishikori, number 16 Diego Schwartzman, and number 17 Nikoloz Basilashvili for his Laver Cup squad. Overwhelming the line-up with North American flavour may not have been in McEnroe’s best interests, especially given the strength of their opposition. The recent records of the Canadian players on the roster only reinforces this argument.
Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic lost both matches they were involved in, with the latter failing to win a single set in two high-pressure match-ups. Although Taylor Fritz performed impeccably and Jack Sock won more points than any other player in the tournament, McEnroe may have benefited from picking players based on their current ATP rankings.
🇪🇺 #TEAMEUROPE WIN@AlexZverev defeats Raonic 6-4, 3-6, [10-4] in the final match of the @LaverCup to complete the three-peat! #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/Pnp24EMa4q
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 22, 2019
Team World got within touching distance of winning the tournament for the first time since its inception – and if they want to make it past the final hurdle next year, they must opt for a more merit-based strategy. Europe’s captain, Björn Borg, and McEnroe signed on for the first three years and now that their contracts are up, it’ll be interesting to see who gets the nod. Moreover, tennis fans around the globe will be aching to see whether a new face at the helm can help wither Team Europe’s dominance.