The 2024 Laver Cup will take place in Berlin, Germany, from September 20 to 22. This will be the 7th edition of the event, with a showdown between the European Team and the World Team. This year's event has received more attention after Rafael Nadal announced his participation.
With the presence of the Spanish legend, it is believed that he will make a retirement announcement like Roger Federer at this tournament in 2022.
However, in the middle of this week, Nadal officially announced his withdrawal from the European Team because he was not physically fit enough to compete. This was a heavy blow to the Laver Cup's reputation.
Although he is no longer in top form, the Spanish tennis player is a magnet for fans. When he announced his participation, the organizers sold quite a lot of tickets.
For Nadal personally, the withdrawal is further evidence that he is getting closer to the end. But for Team Europe, this decision does not affect much, as they have Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Even Nadal's replacement could be considered a better player at this point, so technically his withdrawal would even further improve Team Europe's squad.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner is replaced by Grigor Dimitrov. Given his recent performance at the US Open, the Bulgarian is a great addition to Bjorn Borg's squad.
On the World Team side, they also suffered significant losses when two players, Alex de Minaur and Tommy Paul, withdrew due to injury. But they have had very worthy replacements.
Francisco Cerundolo is no stranger, as he has played in this tournament. The Argentine is a very good player, considered to have an enigmatic element.
He can beat any player at the top of his game. That's the kind of player captain John McEnroe would love to have on his team.
Thanasi Kokkinakis is the second player to join Team World. He is also a very good choice, having played some great matches this year.
The Australian is a talent, but his career was severely derailed by injuries. In recent years, he has been able to find some really good form.
This year is also the last for Borg and McEnroe as captains of their respective teams at the Laver Cup. From 2025, Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi will replace them.
The world team has won the last 2 years in a row.
