Andre Agassi states the change in the Laver Cup he would want to see if he ever played in it

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The eighth edition of the annual Laver Cup is about to get underway in San Francisco.

Returning stars for the defending champions, Team Europe, include Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud, who will be led by captain Yannick Noah and vice captain Tim Henman.

Bidding to win the tournament for a third time in four years is Team World, who will put forward the likes of Taylor Fritz, Joao Fonseca and Alex de Minaur in the hope of reclaiming the cup.

Captaining their side will be Patrick Rafter and eight-time major champion Andre Agassi, who recently revealed he would have loved to have played in the Laver Cup.

Andre Agassi discusses the Laver Cup format ahead of the event

Speaking on an episode of ‘Served Live’ with US compatriot Andy Roddick, Agassi said of the competition: “The team part I love right, like, you play alone the whole year.

“Two things are happening: you don’t want to let your teammate down, but there’s also part of you that wants to show them what they may have to continue to worry about for the rest of the year, right?

“So you’re peers, but you’re competitors, but you’re together, and I think that always brings out energy and the best in people.

“However, I would have preferred a longer format, right? Because my game was designed on sort of putting together a narrative and a tapestry, and with the one-set tiebreak, I think that might’ve added a little stress element for me, too.”

Andre Agassi states the difference between the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup

Agassi continued: “The difference between Davis Cup and this is like, you know, you have cultures that are sort of entrenched in the Davis Cup, right? You’re around your fellow American, your fellow Aussie.

“Here, you have South American, you have Australia—many different ages and different stages of careers.

“So it’s really a ragtag team of true professionals who are giving and buying into everything in this game, coming together to discuss the details, but also to be the outlet for each other.

“And listen, it’s a great vibe. They’re counting on each other. I just can’t screw it up, so I just want to make sure each one can have their latitude to be the best of themselves, and we’ll have a great weekend.”

Reilly Opelka, Francisco Cerundolo, and Alex Michelsen make up the other stars for Agassi’s side.