"I would love to see Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic on the same team" - Roger Federer on Team Europe's lineup for Laver Cup 2024
Roger Federer has expressed his desire to witness Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz join forces to bolster Team Europe's lineup for the 2024 Laver Cup.
Federer was in attendance at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada for Team World's comprehensive 13-2 win over Team Europe at this year's edition of the event. Team World clinched their second consecutive title after winning the Laver Cup for the first time last year.
Casper Ruud, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Arthur Fils, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, and Gael Monfils represented Team Europe this year. Fils and Davidovich Fokina stepped in as replacements for Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune, who withdrew due to injury.
Following Team Europe's loss, Federer, who has represented the team on four occasions, discussed his ideal lineup for the 2024 Laver Cup. The former World No. 1 conveyed his desire for Novak Djokovic to make a return to the event and team up with Carlos Alcaraz next year.
"I would like to see Novak again to be honest. I would love to see actually Alcaraz and Novak on the same team. Love to see that happen," Federer told Eurosport.
With next year's edition set to be held in Berlin, Germany, Federer mentioned home favorite Alexander Zverev as a major draw. Additionally, he acknowledged that Tsitsipas and Rune's withdrawals had negatively impacted Team Europe's chances this year and expressed his hope for their comeback in 2024.
"Zverev would be great for the German market as well and he's been such a great supporter of the Laver Cup as well. Someone like [Holger] Rune, he pulled out too and that really hurt Team Europe. Losing [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and Rune," he said.
Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev also featured in the 20-time Grand Slam champion's ideal lineup for next year.
"There's a lot to choose from, [Daniil] Medvedev obviously would be great. I like watching [Andrey] Rublev as well. I think he tried really hard but it was a tough weekend for him. Then hopefully somebody is going to breakthrough as well ad get a chance to be a pick for Bjorn Borg," he added.
"I think it’s great to take tennis back to Germany" - Roger Federer on Laver Cup 2024
After suffering defeats in the first four editions of the Laver Cup, Team World, consisting of Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Tommy Paul and Francisco Cerundolo, clinched their second consecutive title at the event with a dominant 13-2 win over Team Europe.
Following their victory, Roger Federer lauded Team World for their impressive performance and acknowledged their "thoroughly deserved" win.
"They destroyed Team Europe. Team World played fantastic, they really brought the energy. Everybody brought a point, they were stronger in the doubles. In the singles too, they were moving fast, they were ready to go. They thoroughly deserved victory," he said.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion also shared that he was looking forward to the event being held in Germany next year and shared his expectation for Team Europe to bring a stronger energy in 2024.
"We can speak German, very much looking forward to Berlin, a city I don’t know very well. I can’t wait to go there. I think it’s great to take tennis back to Germany. I think we’ll have much better energy as Team Europe," he said.