Andre Agassi is happy to wear the underdog tag again.
Team World’s captain arrived at The O2 in London this week for a Laver Cup he expects to be harder than the one he lifted a year ago.
“I get the hunch we’ll be playing uphill, but that’s the fun part of this sport,” he told reporters at The O2 on Tuesday.
His lineup has been carved up since the US Open. Ben Shelton pulled out to prioritise Davis Cup duty for the United States, with Brandon Nakashima called in. Tommy Paul is out with an elbow injury picked up at the US Open, replaced by Francisco Cerundolo.
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That leaves Agassi to build his order around Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur and Alexander Bublik, with Learner Tien completing the six-man squad. Across the net sits a Team Europe captained by Yannick Noah and stacked with Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Flavio Cobolli, Jakub Mensik and Rafael Jodar.
Noah made no attempt to hide his motivation.
“I don’t want to get used to losing to Andre. Last time, I felt it was a good idea to let them win in America, you know? Now we’re in Europe. Now it’s our turn.”
Team World arrive in London as defending champions after Agassi’s side beat Team Europe 15-9 at Chase Center in San Francisco last September. It was the team’s third Laver Cup title, after back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023.
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The ‘North Star’ idea
Agassi describes the captaincy less as coaching than as compass work. He said he does not try to overhaul players who already sit near the top of the sport.
“You don’t parachute into any of these world-class champions’ lives.”
The aim, he told Laver Cup organisers, is to give each player something to aim at without asking them to be someone else.
“I hope to give them a North Star to shoot towards. I want them to think about how they can be more themselves as they head out towards their dreams.”
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“There’s not a guy I look at that I don’t think can be better, in one way or another.”
He also contrasted the mood inside a Laver Cup team room with the rivalries he grew up in, naming Pete Sampras.
“It’s way different. Pete and I, I mean, we couldn’t stand each other for a long period of time.”
“Team camaraderie goes a long way out there. So does humor.”
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Points, format and start times
The ninth edition of the Laver Cup runs from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September at The O2 in London. Day-one matches are worth one point each, day-two matches two, and day-three matches three, with the first side to reach 13 points taking the trophy. Friday and Saturday feature day and night sessions starting at 1pm and 7pm local time; Sunday’s play begins at noon local time.
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