Farewell to the captains: Laver Cup pays tribute to Borg and McEnroe
Legendary heads of Team Europe and Team World step down from the tournament after seven years
When the first Laver Cup was staged in 2017, the iconic figures of rivals-turned-friends Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe were one of the most eye-catching aspects of the brand-new team competition.
“To be able to look on the other side and see my greatest rival and great friend, Bjorn Borg, and have my brother as my right-hand man, it’s pretty hard to top that for me personally,” shared McEnroe in Berlin.
Read more: Borg vs. McEnroe: The battle of rivals who became friends
The seven tournaments since have provided countless highlights featuring the two legends of tennis, ending with the most dramatic of comeback wins for Team Europe on Sunday and a fifth triumph for Borg. For the players competing on the court, the Laver Cup has been a chance to get up close and personal with two of their idols.
“Legend” is the word that comes up repeatedly when players from both Team Europe and Team World describe their captains. For Laver Cup debutants Flavio Cobolli (Europe) and Alejandro Tabilo (World) it’s been an opportunity to learn from the very best.
“Having just a little bit of contact with Borg for me means a lot,” smiled Cabolli. “I was born with him and John playing only on YouTube, so I want to say thanks for everything, you know.”
Tabilo agreed: “Yeah, it’s pretty surreal to have a legend like McEnroe giving us tips and everything, it’s nice. Obviously I’m going to try and use that, hopefully for the whole year, rest of the year. for the rest of my career.”
Other players are a little more used to that contact, having played multiple times in the Laver Cup. But everyone remembers the nerves of their first encounter with the legends well.
“I think the first time I played on the team, I didn’t know Bjorn very well, so I was quite nervous to play kind of for him and meet him,” admitted Casper Ruud.
For Taylor Fritz, just being around McEnroe has been an incredible experience.
“It’s been amazing just being able to have him, like, on the bench, on the court. He’s just such a legend,” he said.
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