"You're 12, I shouldn't say so many nice things" - Alexander Zverev hilariously pokes fun at Carlos Alcaraz ahead of Laver Cup 2024 campaign
Alexander Zverev humorously teased his teammate Carlos Alcaraz ahead of their 2024 Laver Cup campaign. The duo is set to team up for doubles on Day 1, where they'll face the American duo of Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.
The first day of the event, September 20, promises an action-packed lineup. Team Europe's Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Grigor Dimitrov will face off against Team World's Francisco Cerundolo, Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Alejandro Tabilo, respectively.
After the singles action concludes, Alcaraz and Zverev will take the court to face Fritz and Shelton, a matchup that is expected to be a showstopper.
Ahead of the event, both participated in a press conference where they were asked about their reactions upon learning they would be teaming up. Alexander Zverev said it was his "privilege" to share the court with a "legend" of the sport, adding:
"We found out last night during our meeting that we had at dinner, but for me, it's a privilege to — don't listen, because you're 12 years old and I shouldn't say so many nice things — but it's a privilege to share the court with a legend in our sport already. He's only going to grow from now on."
"I had the privilege to play doubles with Roger a few times, which was very, very special here. So now sharing the court with Carlos is also extremely special for me. We had some tough battles at Grand Slams this year together, in Australia and at the French Open, so being on the same side is incredible," the German continued.
Carlos Alcaraz on playing doubles with Alexander Zverev: "It's going to be great, going to be fun"
During the same press conference, Carlos Alcaraz shared his enthusiasm about teaming up with Alexander Zverev for doubles at the 2024 Laver Cup. He called it a "great" and "fun" opportunity and expressed confidence that they could defeat Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.
"We battled a few times this year, so have the chance to play on same side of the net, it's going to be great, going to be fun. Obviously with his serves and me in the net, it's going to be easy work for me (smiling)," the Spaniard said.
"I mean, as he said, we're gonna talk a little bit later about which side we're gonna play, about the tactics, and I'm pretty sure that the match is going to be well," he added.
Alcaraz and Zverev have developed a compelling rivalry on the ATP Tour, with their head-to-head tied at 5-5. They faced each other three times this year, with the former winning their encounters at the French Open and Indian Wells, while the latter triumphed at the Australian Open.
It will be interesting to see how these two perform together on the same side of the net for the first time.