The sight of a tennis player marching to the bathroom between sets has become increasingly common in modern tennis but Alexander Zverev’s journey back to the locker room in Prague nine years ago remains particularly remarkable. On this occasion, Zverev happened to be sandwiched between two of the greatest male players of all time. Neither legend was happy.
To his right, an incensed Roger Federer spent their walk back to the locker room brutally laying down the law: “I want a fist pump or a ‘Let’s go!’ every fucking point you win,” he said. Because the problem is, when you don’t have the [result] you want, it’s like: ‘Ah, I knew it. Fuck, shit.’ I don’t want … honestly!” As Federer mercilessly told Zverev off, cursing, shaking his head and even mocking the then-20-year-old’s negative body language until they disappeared into the locker room, his message was amusingly ad-libbed to Zverev’s left by Rafael Nadal, the good cop: “Not one negative face,” he ordered.
Prague 2017 marked the first year of the Laver Cup, an event masterminded by Federer and his longtime manager Tony Godsick. If ever there was an image that validated and underlined the value of the competition, a Ryder Cup-style event that pits Team World and Team Europe against each other, it was this one. Catching such an unfiltered glimpse into Federer’s demeanour away from the cameras was rare enough, but this was even more remarkable considering the recipient of Federer’s passion and ire happened to be the fast rising world No 4, one of the players hoping to end his reign at the top of the sport.
Nine years on, the Laver Cup returns to London at an interesting point in its development. After initially being viewed as an adversary to the Davis Cup and ATP events, it is now an official part of the calendar and has firmed up its place in the tennis ecosystem. The event has allowed the likes of Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to compete alongside each other as well as a score of other top players.
Although there is naturally far less star power on the tour today, its current iteration is clearly led by its one global star: Carlos Alcaraz. The tournament’s organisers have long held visions of this event attaining a similar status within tennis as the Ryder Cup; one of the most important events on the calendar. It is difficult to imagine that happening for various reasons, starting with the decision to return to London.
While it has always presented a good spectacle, a glance over the Laver Cup’s company accounts suggests a more complicated story. The tournament made operating losses of £1.8m in Vancouver in 2023, and on the face of it a much healthier £2,000 in 2024, when the event was held in Berlin. However, this includes “non-tournament revenue”, in other words an injection of cash.
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