Why is Laver Cup 2019 a Priority For Roger Federer?

The five-time US Open champion, Roger Federer dealt with a despairing defeat in the quarterfinals of US Open 2019. The ‘Baby Federer’ of tennis, Grigor Dimitrov eliminated the World Number three in five sets. In the midst of the quarterfinal match, Federer took a medical time out to treat his upper back. Federer stated that, a few hours before the match, he felt the pain.

Right after his Grand Slam defeat, Roger Federer disclosed his future participations on the ATP Tour. The event which is on his priority list is the Laver Cup 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. Despite being physically unfit, he has decided to participate in the three-event of ATP. He will be focusing on recuperation and be fit for the Laver Cup.  

To dig deep into the background of Laver Cup, the event is backed by Roger Federer‘s management company, TEAM8, Tennis Australia and a few others. In other words, Laver Cup can be termed as a Roger Federer backed event, where he is one of the major investors of the tournament.

Being one of the major investors of the Laver Cup makes Federer the owner of the three-day event of ‘Team Europe vs Team World’. As a strategy to earn profits for his event, Federer is prioritizing the Laver Cup event. Despite having some physical issues in New York, Roger Federer’s manager and the CEO of TEAM8 and the chairman of Laver Cup, Tony Godsick stated that “Roger has indicated that he will be fit to play in Geneva.”

Federer is one of the most influential athletes in the world and as far as tennis is concerned he is the global ambassador of the sport. The tennis audience prioritizes is matches. The Swiss legend attracts a huge number of audience and fills up the tennis stadiums. Even for his practice sessions, the stadia are jammed-packed.

For instance, when Federer decided to feature at Madrid Open 2019, and the sales of the tickets were drastically boosted when he announced his participation. Federer prioritizing Laver Cup could be a business tactic. People will turn up in huge numbers and that would eventually profit the tournament.

Undoubtedly he is one of the most marketable athletes in the world. This year, the Swiss maestro earned $86 million from his endorsements deals and it is probably the highest sponsorship earnings which a professional athlete has ever made in their sporting career.

The other reason behind the Swiss maestro to be present at the three-day exhibition event is that it will be taking place in Federer’s home country, Switzerland. Unquestionably, he is excited to play in front of his home crowd, he never misses the ATP tournament Swiss Indoors Basel which is held in his nation.

This year, Roger Federer will be sharing the court with his longtime friend and foe, Rafael Nadal and that multiplies his excitement to feature at Laver Cup this year. They are the greatest rivalries in the history of tennis and the tennis world is always looking forward to witnessing their tennis.

Recently, 48,000 tickets were sold out under 10 minutes for the ‘Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal’ exhibition match in South Africa. Moreover, Federer is fond of playing tennis against/with Nadal and Rafa is his closest mate on the ATP Tour.

A few months ago, the Laver Cup and ATP Tour joined their forces, and retroactively the head-to-head statistics amongst the ATP men were updated in the ATP records. However, no ATP Ranking points will be awarded to the players.

The Laver Cup has access to ATP services, like marketing and social media, as well as other operational services, which in turn promotes Roger Federer backed Laver Cup amongst the tennis society.

The format of Laver Cup, where the European men take on rest of the world, was influenced by the Ryder Cup event of golf. Initially, the World Number three, Federer was instrumental in the creating the Ryder Cup concept in tennis and also worked towards its development.

The three-day event will get underway on September 20, 2019. The Swiss veteran will team up with Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Fabio Fognini for the Laver Cup 2019. Bjorn Borg will be leading Team Europe.