Holger Rune has made a bold claim ahead of his debut at the Laver Cup later this week in San Francisco.
The Danish No.1 will become the first player from his country to take part in the event, which was co-founded by tennis great Roger Federer and first launched in 2017. Named after Rod Laver, the three-day event sees players from Europe take on those from the rest of the world in a team format inspired by golf’s Ryder Cup. Europe has won five out of the past seven editions.
Speaking ahead of this year’s edition, Rune has claimed that players have told him they prefer playing the Laver Cup ahead of Grand Slam tournaments. Although he didn’t mention any names.
“[I’ve] talked to many of the players and they say it’s one of the most fun events to play in, a great event,” said Rune.
“[For] many of them, it’s their favorite event — even more than the Grand Slams,”
The Laver Cup became an officially sanctioned ATP event in 2019 and renewed the deal again last year. Under the deal, they have a designated spot in the Tour calendar and are allowed access to ATP services, including marketing and social media. Players also receive a participation fee, but they are not entitled to any ranking points.
“I have high expectations, but most of all I’m just going to really enjoy it.” said Rune.
“It’s not that often we get to play as a team, so I think that’s super cool.”
“I think I [will] really thrive in this environment. I can’t wait to play. My plan [is] to bring a lot of energy and intensity.”
Also set to take part are US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud for Team Europe. As for Team World, their highest-ranked player is Taylor Fritz, with Alex de Minaur and Joao Fonseca also taking part.
The line-up is yet to be confirmed, but Rune has made it known who he would like to pair up with in the doubles if it were up to him.
“Has to be Carlos (Alcaraz),” he said.
“That could be pretty iconic to relive that moment again.”
“Those [were] good memories and obviously we played each other many times, where we’re on the opposite side of the net, so now we can finally try to be on the same side, which is going to be pretty cool,”
Rune and Alcaraz played together at the 2017 Les Petit As Open, which is a top junior tournament.
The Laver Cup will get underway on Friday at the Chase Center. Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi are the team captains.
