LAVER CUP

September 17, 2024

Roger Federer

ROGER FEDERER: It's always very exciting, of course, seeing the venue for the first time. When the Laver Cup travels, it's a lot of work getting it all set up and stuff. I was just pointing out some nice details, which I think are always very pretty.

Berlin is a city I don't know very well, to be quite honest. I'm also interested in actually doing some sightseeing and having a look around if I get some time. The weather is supposed to be really beautiful. Okay, we're playing indoors, but still when you go out, it's nice.

So yeah, I think coming to Berlin for the Laver Cup is very fun. Looking forward to a great week.

The idea of the Laver Cup, of course its history, rivals becoming teammates as well. Just the experience as a fan, what you get. How they deck out the entire arena. When you show up from the first moment till the last, you want the experience to be one that's fantastic. You actually wish that the Laver Cup was for a longer period of time or more often during the year.

Actually you almost miss it when it's already over because it's only three days, high intensity, and you see obviously the world's greatest players playing against each other, then also being on teams. I think seeing them interact with each other on the bench is something that you don't get a chance very often to see, especially from different countries. I think such high-stacked teams is rare to find. I think the experience overall should be really wonderful.

I always say you have to come to experience the Laver Cup to really get an idea what it's about.

Haven't sensed sadness from them to be honest. To me, the week this week is very much around Bjorn and John. Of course, the tree is Rod Laver. The three legends coming together for one last week.

Of course, in the future I hope that Bjorn and John will return and pass on the torch Bjorn in a way also to Yannick and Andre, that they will always be friends and guests as captains of the inaugural event.

Hopefully they will be able to spend more time away from the court, like me now, I will have time to spend with them in the lounges or then maybe watching some matches together. I would love that in the future down the road, maybe in San Francisco, so forth.

For me it's very much a bittersweet week with Bjorn and John because I would love them to be captains forever. At the same time, we got to move with the times, I guess.

It was supposed to be three years, four or two, and it ended up being seven. It's been seven great years. Couldn't have had better captains, to be honest.