KEY POINTS
- Andy Murray is set to make his Laver Cup debut
- Team Europe are yet to lose the Laver Cup title
- The tournament first took place in 2017
Andy Murray said he is “excited” about playing with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as he has joined Team Europe for Laver Cup.
This would be Murray’s first appearance in the Laver Cup with this year’s edition scheduled to begin on Sept. 23. Team Europe is the star-studded one, including Nadal, Federer and is captained by 11-time Grand Slam winner Bjorn Borg. The other team members are yet to be named.
"I love playing as part of a team and there is a great atmosphere and intensity to the event. I've heard lots of good things and I'm excited to be teaming up with both Roger and Rafa for Team Europe," Murray said, according to BBC Sport.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s Borg said he is "extremely excited" about Murray's involvement, adding, "He is a dedicated, ferocious, and inspirational competitor."
Andy Murray is a three-time Grand Slam champion. Photo: AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS
The players named so far who’ll feature in the opposite team, Team World, include Top-15 names Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, and Diego Schwartzman. Team World will be captained by John McEnroe.
Nadal and Federer's Team Europe is yet to lose the Laver Cup title, having won every season since the inaugural edition in 2017. Only in 2020, the tournament did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three-time Grand Slam winner Murray underwent hip surgery in 2019. Murray recently won his first match against an ATP Top 5 player since 2016 by beating World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets at Stuttgart Open. The Brit followed that with a victory over Nick Kyrgios in straight sets to reach the final, where he lost to Matteo Berrettini in three sets.
As a result, Murray improved his ranking and broke into the Top 50 for the first time since 2018. Unfortunately, a stomach illness did not allow him to feature in the Queen’s Club Championship, which was again won by Berrettini.
In the ongoing Wimbledon Championships, Murray survived a scare against James Duckworth and progressed to the second round. The Australian player put up a fierce fight but the two-time Wimbledon champion Murray held his nerves to seal the game in four sets.
Murray will take on World No. 26 John Isner on Wednesday at All England Club.
