Carlos Alcaraz is preparing to help Team Europe try and win the Laver Cup for the first time in three years and Roger Federer will be a keen spectator this time around.
Last year’s tournament was a comprehensive rout for Team World. Led by John McEnroe they thrashed Bjorn Borg’s charges 13-2 in Vancouver.
This time around, Team Europe will have a stronger group of players to call upon, with Alcaraz joined by Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Alcaraz is clearly the star attraction ahead of the tournament starting. He’s won two of the four majors in 2024 and Federer is looking forward to finally seeing him in action.
Roger Federer says the mistake that Carlos Alcaraz must be careful with
Federer has already claimed that he’s going to apologise to Alcaraz when he sees him after missing his Wimbledon final back in July.
However, he is extremely excited to see him play having never done so live previously.
Federer will be at the Laver Cup and he’s itching to watch the new boy wonder play, even giving him some advice before he gets to finally watch him in action.
He told the Australian Open on X: “I think his intensity, the power in his shots, already the physical capabilities that he has, obviously he’s got to be careful that he doesn’t basically just run for every ball because it’s not necessary but he will learn that with age.
“He’s also very strong when it matters the most, I’m thinking back now to when he beat Novak in the Wimbledon final, you know the fifth set, this is the stuff we know that Novak thrives on and plays at his absolute best. For Carlos to come through that, for me, that’s when he showed like, okay, he’s the guy and he’s going to be around for a very long time.
“So I’m actually very excited to see Carlos play live here because I haven’t seen him play live ever.”
Alcaraz can lead Team Europe to glory at Laver Cup
The young sensation is down to play in the final game on the opening day, partnering Zverev against Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton in doubles action.
That promises to be a mouthwatering affair and Team Europe will hope to claim a victory in that one.
However, looking at the bigger picture, perhaps Alcaraz would be wise to take the advice from Federer on board going into next year.
Alcaraz will hope to continue his relative dominance in 2025 and perhaps he does need to preserve some energy when he’s out on the court instead of chasing down every single ball.
At 22, the player is still learning and people like Federer can help him in the future if Alcaraz takes on board what these legendary figures tell him.
It will be absolutely fascinating to see what Alcaraz achieves in the future but in the short term but right now Laver Cup glory is the only thing on his mind.
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