John Isner, Reilly Opelka and Nick Kyrgios announced as part of Team World for Laver Cup 2021
Americans John Isner and Reilly Opelka will take part in the fourth edition of the Laver Cup later this year. The duo will join Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov, Diego Schwartzman and Felix Auger-Aliassime on Team World's roster for the tournament, which will take place at the TD Garden in Boston.
While Reilly Opelka, who recently made his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final in Toronto, will be playing in the Laver Cup for the first time in his career, John Isner has participated in every edition.
“To be on a team with guys we’re normally competing against is so different and so much fun. We come together so well as a group, the chemistry is awesome and it’s such a great environment to be part of,” Isner said.
Isner turned 36 earlier this year but has shown no signs of slowing down, winning 11 of his last 12 matches. Opelka, meanwhile, reached the semifinals of the 2021 Italian Open before going one better at the Toronto Masters, where he was beaten by Daniil Medvedev in the final.
That said, the rest of the Team World contingent have had rather mediocre seasons. Denis Shapovalov, Diego Schwartzman and Felix Auger-Aliassime have posted decent results at the Majors, but have struggled at other events.
Nick Kyrgios, meanwhile, has hardly played any competitive tennis this year. The Aussie, however, is expected to be pumped up for the Laver Cup, which happens to be his favorite event on the tennis calendar.
“Laver Cup is my favorite week of the year and I just love being part of the team. It’s going to be unreal playing at TD Garden, home of the Celtics,” Kyrgios said.
“Boston fans love their sport, so if we can win the Laver Cup anywhere, then TD Garden and Boston, one of the greatest sports cities in the world, is the place to do it.”
The Australian could also be fuelled by the prospect of facing Casper Ruud, with whom he has exchanged verbal volleys for quite some time.
Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem to miss Laver Cup 2021
Meanwhile, Team Europe will be led by World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, who will be making his Laver Cup debut in Boston. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini are the other members of Team Europe.
Team Europe mainstays Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem will be skipping this year's Laver Cup. Federer, who helped establish the competition back in 2017, has withdrawn from the event due to a knee injury. The Swiss will undergo surgery later this year and will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Dominic Thiem, for his part, took to Twitter on Wednesday to announce that he will not be able to return to action this year due to a right wrist injury. The Austrian, who damaged the tendons in his wrist while competing in Mallorca, is eyeing a return to competitive tennis next year.