Tennis is largely an individual sport, but tournaments like the Davis Cup and Laver Cup allow players to represent their country and compete in team formats. The Davis Cup, considered the “World Cup of Tennis,” is a men’s knock-out competition in which more than 130 countries compete for the distinction of the best in the sport. The Billie Jean King Cup is the female equivalent to the Davis Cup.
The Laver Cup, meanwhile, is an annual men’s tournament contested between Team Europe and Team World. The indoor hardcourt event was first held in 2017 at the 02 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. Rather than typical matches in ATP Tour events, matches in the three-day Laver Cup are just two sets with a 10-point tiebreak serving as the third set in the event players split the first two sets. There are 12 matches in total (nine singles and three doubles). Victories on the first day are worth just one point, whereas matches on the second and third days are worth two and three points, respectively.
The 2022 Laver Cup was held at the O2 Arena in London from September 23 to 25. Team World won the event in come-from-behind fashion 13-8.
First Win for Team World
Team World’s victory was its first in the history of the tournament. Team Europe won the inaugural event 15-9 and won 13-8 in 2018 and 13-11 in 2019. The event wasn’t held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2021 Team Europe scored a dominant 14-1 victory.
The 2022 event started well for Team Europe as it jumped to a 2-0 lead with singles victories by Casper Ruud (Norway) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece). However, Team World evened the score after Day 1 with victories by Alex de Minaur (Australia) and Jack Sock/Frances Tiafoe (United States). Team Europe won three of four matches on Day 2 to carry an 8-4 lead into Day 3 and appeared as though they were en route to winning the Laver Cup for the fifth time.
Team World, however, won three consecutive matches on Day 3, claiming nine points and securing the 13 points needed for a victory.
Frances Tiafoe Secures Win for Team World
After Team World won the first two matches on Day 3, Tiafoe faced Tsitsipas with a chance to wrap up the tournament without needing a fourth and final match. Despite dropping the first set, Tiafoe stormed back to win 1-6, 7-6 (13-11), 10-8. He saved four match points and secured the victory when Tsitsipas’ forehand return hit the net.
Tiafoe’s impressive performance came two weeks after reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open. He defeated Top 20 players Diego Schwartzman, Rafael Nadal, and Andrey Rublev before losing in a five-set classic against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. Tiafoe jumped to a career-best No. 19 in the world rankings after the US Open.
Auger-Aliassime Stuns Djokovic
While Tiafoe won the decisive match for Team World, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity without a strong showing from Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada) on Day 3. Auger-Aliassime teamed with Sock to defeat Matteo Berrettini (Italy) and Andy Murray (United Kingdom) 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 in the first match of the day and defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) in a shocking upset in the second match.
Auger-Aliassime won his first career ATP Tour title earlier in the season but struggled heading into the Laver Cup. He lost to world No. 53 Jack Draper (UK) in the Round of 64 at the US Open and lost in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in his home country. He had also lost in straight sets to Djokovic earlier in 2022 at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Italy.
Team Captains
Since its inception, tennis legends and former rivals Bjorn Borg (Sweden) and John McEnroe (United States) have served as captains of Team Europe and Team World, respectively. Borg and McEnroe split their 14 matches on the ATP Tour from 1978 to 1981, although McEnroe was 3-1 against Borg in Grand Slam finals.
Federer’s Swan Song
The 2022 Laver Cup will be remembered for more than just Team World’s first victory. The event also marked the final official match for Roger Federer (Switzerland), who teamed with his longtime rival, Nadal (Spain), in a losing effort on Day 1 against Sock and Tiafoe. Federer and Nadal embraced after the match, with both players overcome with emotion. Federer and Nadal have played 40 matches against each other, with Nadal winning 24 and Federer 16. Following the match, players on both teams lifted Federer in celebration of his career.
A 20-time Grand Slam winner, Federer announced in September that the Laver Cup would be his final event. He hadn’t played since Wimbledon 2021 and had undergone three operations on his right knee in recent years.
“For me, just personally, [it was] sad in the first moment, when I came to the conclusion it’s the best decision,” Federer told the Associated Press. “I kind of held it in at first, then fought it off. But I could feel the pain.”