McEnroe: Spirit key for Team World three-peat at Laver Cup

What role can personality and emotion play in forging success on the tennis court? Perhaps no one is better placed to comment on the topic than John McEnroe.

The American tennis icon is banking on team spirit to lay the foundation for Team World’s 2024 Laver Cup campaign this weekend in Berlin. Up against a Team Europe lineup featuring five of the Top 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings, McEnroe nonetheless believes his Team World has what it takes to seal its third consecutive crown at the teams event.

“I believe that every Laver Cup we have played, nine of the Top 10 have been Europeans,” said McEnroe, when asked about his team’s off-court cohesion during a pre-event press conference. “So I think that team spirit that's something that has helped carry us eventually to victory and kept us really close in others. It's an excellent point.”

Not that McEnroe doesn’t have some top ATP Tour talent to send out on court at Uber Arena. His roster is led by World No. 7 Taylor Fritz, who will be competing for the first time since reaching his maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open earlier this month. Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Alejandro Tabilo, Francisco Cerundolo and Thanasi Kokkinakis complete the Team World lineup.

Fritz shied away from suggestions that he was going to be something of a ‘leader’ within his team in Berlin, but instead said each member of Team World is ready to take individual responsibility in their bid to retain the Laver Cup.

“In this competition, it's just up to each of us to do our part to get the points,” said the American. “One person can't win it. Everybody's got a job to do. [After the US Open] I had a couple of days off to relax, to just enjoy some time off after a long two weeks. Then I started to get back into it a couple days before and I have had some good practices here, getting myself ready to go for this weekend.”

𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐯𝐬 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 ✨@LaverCup | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/bLc6xxIOhf

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 18, 2024

One man who is aiming to maintain his perfect Laver Cup record is Shelton, who made his debut in Team World’s comprehensive victory in Vancouver a year ago. The 21-year-old is used to operating in a team format, having played college tennis at the University of Florida in 2021 and 2022.

“It's a lot of fun for me,” said Shelton, when asked about returning to a team format. “Pro tennis is a lot different from college tennis. Usually everything is on your own shoulders, so it's nice to be able to rely on your teammates sometimes. Team World, we've a lot of guys that are reliable, especially Taylor Fritz. That guy is solid as a rock. Crazy. I think it's a special event for me to be a part of.

“I'm just grateful that two years straight I got to come out here and compete, because I love the team atmosphere and I love cheering on my guys and competing when I've got guys cheering for me on the sidelines.”

Some South American flair will be injected into the 2024 version of Team World by Chilean Tabilo and Argentine Cerundolo.

It will be a Laver Cup debut for Tabilo, who rose to a career-high No. 19 in the PIF ATP Rankings in July after a series of high-quality showings across the first half of 2024. The 27-year-old was outside the Top 100 as recently as last November, but will now line up for Team World in ATP legend McEnroe’s final outing as captain.

“It's pretty surreal. I mean, when a legend in the sport like [McEnroe] is giving us tips and everything, it's nice,” said Tabilo. “Obviously I’m going to try and use that for the rest of my career. Just definitely going to help this week and hopefully for the whole year.”