Despite the Laver Cup due to start tomorrow, all of the pre-tournament chat has been regarding other events or problems within the sport.
After all, the platform is there to discuss such pertinent issues, and it is made easier because very few take the tournament seriously.
It seems like a fine opportunity to let off some steam and take it easy in a refreshing fun group format for the players, yet nothing about what John McEnroe has been discussing was light and easygoing.
John McEnroe calls for Grand Slam boycott
Chatting to CNBC ahead of the Laver Cup, seeking to preview the event in which he is captaining Team World, the American actually used his platform on TV to talk about a very serious issue within tennis away from this particular weekend-long tournament.
Instead, he talked about his dreams for tennis: ‘I have a tennis academy in Randalls Island, I have had it for a dozen years. The game is not accessible or affordable enough yet.
‘My long goal over the last 40 years is to get the game to more people who can’t normally afford it. My dream would be someone from Harlem, The Bronx, Queens, to come and win a US Open.
He then moved on to how they might inspire such change: ’And final thing, at some point with the majors, the players have to be partners with that event. I totally disagree with the business side of that right now. We are getting bamboozled as we have all through the years. Even though there is more money than there has ever been, there needs to be a partnership like there is with the NBA and NFL.
‘The players have an association but they don’t have a union. We need to do a lot better. Because the sport is worldwide, players are spread out all over the world and it’s tough to agree on a lot of things.
‘In order to get what we want, and I’m speaking for myself, I’m not speaking for Roger Federer or Carlos Alcaraz, you probably need to boycott a major or two. That’s the only way to show these guys we mean business but I don’t know if the players of today would be willing to do that.’
What are the other players saying about the Laver Cup?
Whilst McEnroe might be taking the Laver Cup supremely seriously, and with good reason given it will be his final year as a captain, others do not share his focus.
Unsurprisingly, Daniil Medvedev is one such example, with the Russian recently noting: ‘It’s actually very easy because usually against many of these guys I don’t want them to win. Rankings or your matches etc, when you play them.
‘Here is the only week where you are really relaxed, you want them to win, you don’t care which score or against who. It’s a very easy feeling.’
Carlos Alcaraz would echo that sentiment, claiming: ‘Having a lot of time with them and speaking with them about something else, not only tennis, is going to be different. And I like different things…we are going to laugh a lot, I’m sure about it.’
Ironically, McEnroe has said he hopes Alcaraz plays terribly at the Laver Cup.
Ben Shelton does not share that ease though, stating: ‘We really want to win.
‘We beat them last year and now they’re bringing out the big guns in Berlin, so we’re looking forward to the challenge. We’re a pretty confident group and we’re looking forward to it.’
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
