	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

LAVER CUP

September 23, 2018

Chicago, Illinois

Team Europe - 13

Team World - 8

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Kevin, you have played a lot of big finals recently. How does losing here compare to losing at a major final?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, it's quite different, I'd say. Obviously here you're not just playing for yourself. You have your whole team with you and you're playing for something different. You know, you feel like, you know, you didn't sort of come through for the team, and in my case not giving Nick a chance to go out there and play in the decider, so that was really tough.

But, you know, on the plus side, just playing out there and today's atmosphere and all week, I mean, blew my expectations away. I thought it was just incredible. So as tough as it is, I think we all knew we gave it our best shot, and we can't do more than that. We just have to use it as motivation for next year.

Q. You knew you were underdogs, but basically did the team perform above your expectations? You got awfully close.
CAPTAIN JOHN McENROE: We had four matches we had match point, but I felt the team was going to perform well, I really did. I thought we had a great chance. Obviously they have got two of the greatest players that ever lived and other tremendous players.

We battled hard. I knew our team spirit was great. I thought we were going to win this. I really did.

You know, we started a couple matches early that we could have won. We didn't. We were sort of desperately unlucky, and we could have very easily won this.

Q. A question for Jack. Very difficult loss. Excellent fight by all of you. I'm just wondering, for you, what this week means. Because you get an opportunity to be with a group of guys you don't normally have time with, and you were a big participant this week.
JACK SOCK: Yeah, I mean, I knew coming in that I was probably going to play a couple of the doubles matches, at least. I'm a massive team guy. I grew up playing team sports, like a couple of these guys. I kind of thrive in that atmosphere a little bit.

The crowd was incredible. I was beyond stoked when Captain Mack gave me the call to come and play. My role this weekend was kind of the half-court specialist/hype man. I feel like I fulfilled the role a little bit.

I had crazy energy during the singles. Tried to get these guys going. Like Captain said, tennis is a game of inches sometimes, and we feel like we really got unlucky this week in a lot of scenarios. But that's sports and that's why we play.

In fact, we really came together as a team. A couple of us were on the team last year, and as we call it, the fellowship was definitely high this weekend. We were all backing each other in every match.

It just didn't go our way, to be honest with you. We had a lot of unlucky breaks. I couldn't have asked to be on a more fun team and a more supportive team. Hopefully if a lot of us can get the call next year, we can run it back and see what happens.

Honestly, just thankful to be a part of the team and grateful to have the opportunity. Tough weekend, for sure, but we will be back stronger next year.

Q. John, Laver Cup doesn't have the history of the Davis Cup, doesn't have any ranking points. Stats aren't going to the Hall of Fame tomorrow. Why do you think it catches on so magically? Are you surprised by that?
CAPTAIN JOHN McENROE: I just hope we don't screw this up in our sport. This is, like, a huge win, I think. I think we saw that. We weren't quite sure this year. But this was just absolutely awesome again.

The crowds were amazing. The energy was great. The tennis, the level was so high.

I can't see how people can't think that this is a great thing for tennis. I mean, I really don't. I don't see -- I mean, obviously I love playing Davis Cup and playing for my country, and they are trying to figure out what to do with that, and then there is this other event. But they've got to come together. For once in my 40-year history in tennis, they have got to come together and try and figure out how to improve this sport.

To me, I have been around for a long time, and if they think this isn't good for the sport, they're out of their heads.

Q. Is this becoming kind of like the All-Star Game of tennis now?
CAPTAIN JOHN McENROE: It's like the Ryder Cup, more than the All-Star Game. This is not an All-Star Game. We are here to win. There is a lot of money at stake. How often does this happen where you get the best of the best from all over the world to play? I don't know of any other scenario, including Davis Cup, which you know, you have been around, Richard, since the very beginning. You guys know how much I care about that.

But this, to me, is a no-brainer. I don't know. Maybe there will be points or, you know, who knows what will happen?

But in the meantime, I can't see how we wouldn't look at this and say this is a major positive. You know, you've got Rod Laver who is, like, the Babe Ruth of tennis, and you've got Roger Federer behind it, for starters, among other things.

DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN: You?

CAPTAIN JOHN McENROE: I'm the poor -- I'm happy to be here (smiling).

Q. Nicolas, can you give me, in a couple of words, what your personal highlight has been throughout the last few days?
NICOLAS JARRY: A couple words? It's I think the best event out there. It's team, best level, and then tennis. That's it.

I'm so happy to be here, thrilled to be with this team. I'm enjoying every day, trying to take the best out of all the guys here and try to incorporate into myself.

FRANCES TIAFOE: A ton of great things that happened this week. No idea. Probably Jack Sock in the tiebreak this week, the angle he hit, I don't know, 8-6 in the breaker. I think I almost passed out. I didn't know what to do with myself.

And then the reaction after them winning. Even the reaction after Anderson beating Novak. So many good things that happened. Adrenaline was going all over the place. It's a great group of guys. A ton of good moments. I can't pick one.

NICK KYRGIOS: For me, just a lot of fun. You know, I was looking forward to this week. As soon as it ended last year I just had my eye on it the whole year. I didn't really know how we were going to go this year, but then after seeing how Kevin had the massive win over Novak, I thought that really kick-started the comeback. We started to believe as soon as he won yesterday that we could win this whole event.

You know, I haven't really had much of a relationship with Kevin in the past, but now obviously I wouldn't mind going to watch a couple of matches in Tokyo, for instance. I feel like I have built a lot of relationships from this event that we will have for a lifetime. I have never been close to Nicolas Jarry in my life, but now we have this bond. I think it's awesome, a great way for tennis to keep moving forward. At the end of the day, we are entertainers. I think a lot of the world is watching this week. I think it's pretty successful.

JACK SOCK: Tough to follow that up, but I second that. Kevin and I didn't follow each other on Instagram until this weekend, so that's a big positive. So I've got one new follower, that's for sure. Lady Kady, as well, also in the house. Very excited about that.

But, no, seriously what Kygs said, it's been an incredible weekend here. We experienced it last year. The team bond was out of this world. To experience it again, you know, to be grateful enough to be here and to be a part of it again, you know, Diego is my amigo for life now. I got Kevin by my side. I've got Kygs by my side. Foe by my side, Nico Jarry. We've got everyone here. John is not here. He's off to go see his baby daughter.

We all grew closer for sure this year week. Hopefully a lot of us can be on the team again next year and build off this. Now we all kind of know what it's like. I think we are all pretty motivated and excited to try and bring the Laver Cup back to Team World.

KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I'd say two things. Obviously tennis is a very individual sport. I think for myself, just coming from South Africa, there is not too many other South Africans. Most of the time I'm spending most of the time with my team. So I think spending more time with the guys, as both Nick and Jack said, I think that was highlight for me. I second them.

Just playing in Chicago, obviously I've spent a lot of time here, and going to university in 2005 for a couple of years, living in Chicago for another few years, my whole wife's family is from here, so when I saw it was in Chicago, I was incredibly excited. Even though this week didn't go the way we wanted it to go, just playing here with "the" best crowd support I have ever had as a tennis player was definitely a highlight for me.

DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN: I don't know what to say now, but I enjoy a lot this weekend. It was a great weekend for me. Trying to be with all my teammates every match with really tight matches. Everyone, many tiebreakers, many match points for us. I have a few match points in one of the matches.

But it was a great weekend for me, trying to improve my things outside the court, trying to learn about these guys and the opponent guys. For me, it was a great weekend. I'm trying to be here in the next year, and thanks for this great weekend to the Chicago people, because the atmosphere out there was so good.

CAPTAIN JOHN McENROE: Just finally, Diego is our inspirational leader. These other guys were amazing. Led us along the way. But the main thing would be, to me, in tennis we are often looking for different formats, you know, things that can work, you know, different -- maybe not the best of five, we talk about this. Oh, we can't play best of three and a tiebreaker in the third. Well, guess what? We had another match to go, and that was already six or seven hours. And even then, that was a long weekend, and there was fatigue on both sides but exhilaration, as well.

I think that's the part that I love about this so much, to really try to -- even the point system and everything about it kept the interest level high. Sometimes you've got to think outside the box, and I think they have done that really well here.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297

LAVER CUP

September 23, 2018

John McEnroe

Nicolas Jarry

Kevin Anderson

Frances Tiafoe

Diego Schwartzman

Nick Kyrgios

Jack Sock