"It's great to be here, probably once in a lifetime to be in a team along with Rafa, Roger and Andy"- Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic landed in London for the fifth edition of the Laver Cup, which will be Roger Federer's final tournament. The Serb is part of a star-studded Team Europe which also has Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Matteo Berrettini is an alternate for the team.
Team Europe’s Novak Djokovic has landed in London.
#LaverCup https://t.co/beNKtNtAdw
Team World, on the other hand, has Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Diego Schwartzman, Frances Tiafoe, Jack Sock and Alex de Minaur.
Upon arriving in London, Novak Djokovic said that there will be emotional moments on and off the court, especially for Roger Federer. He also stated that being on the same team as Federer, Murray and Nadal, calling it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"Great to be here, exciting, full of emotional moments on and off the court, particularly for Roger. It's exciting, it's great to be here, probably once in a lifetime to be in a team along with Rafa, Roger and Andy, three of my biggest rivals," Novak Djokovic said.
🛬🇬🇧👋
“It’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” —@DjokerNole on being a part of Team Europe for #LaverCup 2022 https://t.co/DUDF41oPpA
Novak Djokovic will feature in the Laver Cup for the second time
This year will mark Djokovic's second appearance at the Laver Cup, having previously appeared in the tournament in 2018.
The Serb partnered Roger Federer in their doubles match against Kevin Anderson and Jack Sock. However, the latter won 6-7(5), 6-3 [10-6]. Djokovic then lost his only singles match to Anderson. He was scheduled to play Nick Kyrgios but the match did not take place. Team Europe went on to win that year's Laver Cup 13-8.
The schedule for this year's Laver Cup is yet to be decided and Djokovic will be eager to help his team win the tournament for the fifth successive time.
The Serb has not played a tennis match since his victory over Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final. He could not travel to the United States and Canada as he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. As a result, the 35-year-old missed the Canadian Open, the Western & Southern Open Open and the US Open.
After the Laver Cup, Djokovic will compete at the Tel Aviv Open as the top seed. The tournament will feature some well-known names like Marin Cilic, Diego Schwartzman and Karen Khachanov.
Djokovic is currently ranked seventh in the world and will be eager to move up the rankings for the remaining months of the season.