Team Europe rounds out 2021 Laver Cup lineup with three newcomers
Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud join Matteo Berrettini as competitors set to make their event debut in Boston.
At the first three editions of Laver Cup, Team Europe had the benefit of boasting two Big 3 members in Prague, Chicago and Geneva.
That won’t be the case in Boston next month, with Roger Federer’s withdrawal and Wednesday’s reveal of the squad's remaining roster. Having previously announced Matteo Berrettini will make his event debut, three more newcomers are set to join the Wimbledon finalist: world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev and No. 11-ranked Casper Ruud.
“Playing as part of a team is special for us, as we don’t get the chance to do that often,” Medvedev said in a statement. “I’m also looking forward to being on the same side of the net for once with some of my biggest rivals on the tour!”
World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas and fifth-ranked Alexander Zverev, who has clinched the past two titles for Team Europe, will fill the veteran roles as experienced competitors in the format. Dominic Thiem was forced to drop out after ending his season due to an ongoing right wrist injury.
Organizers stated that the rest of Team World will be revealed later this week. Canadians Denis Shapovalov (No. 10) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 17), along with Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman (No. 14), make up the first half of this year’s group. Auger-Aliassime will be appearing for the first time.
Postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the team competition is slated to run September 24-26 at TD Garden.