John McEnroe offers Andre Agassi advice on how to deal with Team World members when he takes over from him at Laver Cup
John McEnroe has offered Andre Agassi some interesting advice on how to deal with members of Team World when he takes over from him at the Laver Cup next year. Having served as the team captain for the world contingent since the start of the exhibition event in 2017, McEnroe is passing on the mantle to Agassi with one final hurrah at the Berlin edition this year.
Similar to the American, Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg is also in his final appearance at the tournament. Next year, his position will be taken up by French tennis icon Yannick Noah.
Speaking at his pre-tournament press conference ahead of the start of the Laver Cup, McEnroe jokingly advised Agassi:
"Well, don't pay attention to these guys."
The former World No. 1 then touched on what he thought were the highlights of his time at the Laver Cup, citing the experiences he had with Roger Federer, Borg, and his own brother Patrick McEnroe.
"First of all, you know me well enough to know that Rod Laver was my idol. Roger Federer to me is the most beautiful player I have every seen play on a tennis court. To be able to look on the other side and see my greatest rival and great friend, Bjorn Borg, and have my brother as my right-hand man, it's pretty hard to top that for me personally," McEnroe said.
John McEnroe, interestingly, picked Frances Tiafoe leading Team World to their first title in 2022 (after four straight defeats to Team Europe) as the 'greatest' moment in the history of the Laver Cup for him.
"Without a doubt, you know, when Frances won that final point in London would be the greatest moment in the history for me, I'll let Patrick finish, but when we finally got -- I was starting honestly to feel like the Washington Generals with the Globetrotters. None of us wanted to feel that. So that was an incredible moment. We carried that through last year," he added.
"John McEnroe wasn't a happy camper" - Patrick McEnroe on how his brother felt after four straight losses to Team Europe at the Laver Cup
At the press conference, John McEnroe's brother Patrick, who serves as vice-captain for Team World, also offered advice for next year's captain, urging him to put his all into the event.
As for what his highlight of the Laver Cup was, Patrick echoed the same sentiment as his brother, thinking back to their first title win in 2022 and how it finally brought some happiness to John McEnroe.
"I would advise those guys to just put everything into it, because it's really special to get these players together, playing on a team. That's something really unique in our sport," Patrick McEnroe said.
"So I remember the year before, we won it for the first time. John and I were in the hotel room in Boston, and let's just say that he wasn't a happy camper. You know, the competition is very important to us in addition to the camaraderie of the team, you know, for the event itself. It's super fun, a great event, but we want to win," he added.
The line-up for Team World in 2024 includes: Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Francisco Cerundolo, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Alejandro Tabilo. On the other hand, Team Europe consists of: Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and Grigor Dimitrov.