Nick Kyrgios shares memories with Roger Federer from Laver Cup 2018
Nick Kyrgios took to Instagram on Sunday to share a couple of throwback pictures from the 2018 Laver Cup, including one of himself and Roger Federer at the United Center in Chicago. Also in the photo was Chicago Bulls legend pippen" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Scottie Pippen in his capacity as a guest guide for their tour of the tournament's venue.
Having played more than a decade for the Bulls at the same stadium, Pippen was the best choice to help the duo get familiarized with the location of their grand showcase.
Federer and Kyrgios were two of the first players to confirm their availability for the 2018 edition of the team event, and were flown to Chicago for initial tournament promotions. In addition to the tour from Scottie Pippen, the Swiss and the Australian participated in an exhibition rally in front of Chicago's popular Cloud Gate sculpture.
Good Morning Chicago! The countdown to the #LaverCup 2018 starts here! Follow the action live on Twitter and Periscope @LaverCup. 👌 https://t.co/4OSJf3Cz8p
It was followed by a meet-and-greet with fans and then a press conference at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, where the 20-time Grand Slam champion reiterated his commitment to the tournament.
The former World No. 1 revealed that he was very interested in the history of the game. That made his participation in the Laver Cup a no-brainer, since the intention behind the tournament's formulation was to honor the legends of the game by getting them involved in the sport again.
"The idea of the Laver Cup was always to honor the legends of the game, starting with Rod Laver whom we all admire very much. I am a big historian of the game, I love history," Federer said. "I like looking back on what the players did, how they did it and why they did, what drove them."
Here's the complete promo video uploaded to YouTube by Laver Cup's official account:
Roger Federer and Team Europe went on to defend their title at the 2018 Laver Cup
Having won the Prague edition of the Laver Cup in 2017, Team Europe went on to defend its title in Chicago the following year. Roger Federer was the highest ranked player from Europe, followed by djokovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin, Kyle Edmund and Jeremy Chardy.
Memories 2018 September 24 Laver Cup Yeam Europe with #federer 💙💙 #lavercup https://t.co/w9dbEqpFbI
Team World, on the other hand, had Kevin Anderson as its top player, followed by John Isner, Diego Schwartzman, Jack Sock, Frances Tiafoe, Nick Kyrgios and Nicolas Jarry.
.@rogerfederer gets his revenge! He brings #TeamEurope2018 just one win away from the 2018 #LaverCup title after defeating Isner 6-7, 7-6, 10-7.
Team Europe now leads 10-8.
ms.spr.ly/6012rANdE https://t.co/wGRkqA13FL
The Swiss won both his singles encounters, defeating Kyrgios and Isner. However, he lost both his doubles contests, partnering first with Djokovic in the loss against Anderson and Sock and then with Zverev in the defeat to Isner and Sock.
Kyrgios, meanwhile, ended up winning his doubles outing with Sock, triumphing over Goffin and Dimitrov. The former World No. 13 was scheduled to take on the Serb in his final singles tie but the match was abandoned as Team Europe secured the required 13 points prior to it.
Team Europe managed to retain the title in subsequent editions as well. Team World will be looking for their maiden triumph at the Laver Cup in 2022