Roger Federer Disappointed As Stan Wawrinka Opts Out of Laver Cup 2019

Published 05/13/2019, 6:27 AM EDT

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Roger Federer received Laver Cup setback, four days ago as Stan Wawrinka opted out of the event. The Swiss react to Wawrinka’s announcement of not playing the Laver Cup in September which is scheduled to be held in Switzerland.

Roger Federer was let down by the decision of Stan about not participating at the Laver Cup. He said, “Yes, this is a disappointment for me and certainly for the Swiss public. But I also understand his decision. I hoped he would choose the Laver Cup.”

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“I told Steve Zacks (CEO of Laver Cup) that he would do his best to bring him over. My priorities have always been clear; it was Rafa, Novak, and Stan. After, he is in shape and wants to chase away the points. I understand but it’s a shame.”

Earlier, Stan Wawrinka was asked by a fan on Instagram whether he would play in Laver Cup Geneva or not? The Swiss revealed that he would be playing the St. Petersburg Open in Russia, instead.

He later added the reason for his non-participation at the event, in an interview quoted by Le Matin. He said, “There were discussions last year, with Roger first and then our respective managers. The last ones took place in Australia. They made me some proposals that I did not agree with. Then they told me that it was their latest offer. But it was clear in my mind that I would not play. It’s a choice.

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Stan Wawrinka also confessed that he was hoping to play in Geneva but it did not happen. “I would have liked to be there, it’s in Geneva.  I wanted to play, Roger wanted me to play it. Unfortunately, it did not happen. And since then I have been in St. Petersburg for the past few days, my decision is now public,” added the 3-time grand slam champion.

Laver Cup was created by Roger Federer and TEAM8, his management company. The tournament started in 2017, sees the players competing for Team Europe and Team World. The event is scheduled to take place in Switzerland this year and it was expected that Wawrinka will play alongside his captain, Roger Federer in front of the home crowd.

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While Rafael Nadal has already signed up for the tournament, it will be interesting to see which players join the two legends in the Team Europe.

 

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Written by:

Varun Khanna

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Starting off as a tennis author in 2018, Varun Khanna has gone on to contribute to EssentiallySports in various capacities. After setting up interviews with the likes of Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Alizé Cornet, and Noah Rubin, Varun is now part of all major ATP and WTA press conferences and has gone on to pen more than 1300 articles for EssentiallySports. He now heads the tennis and NBA division of the organization.
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