Roger Federer’s huge presence will explode back onto the tennis stage this weekend as the Laver Cup tournament he brought to the take sees most of the biggest names in men’s tennis taking to the stage for the 2025 edition in San Francisco.
Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Alex De Minaur are some of the big names set to play in an event that has comparisons to golf’s Ryder Cup.
The presence of world No 1 Alcaraz will ensure there is plenty of spotlight on the Laver Cup and Federer suggests the young Spaniard and his great rival Jannik Sinner have now started a new dynasty in the men’s game.
Federer’s rivalry with Rafael Nadal transcended tennis for a decade a more, with Novak Djokovic adding to the mix as he started to disrupt their dominance and eventually become the world No 1 in his own right.
There were questions over how tennis would thrive when the ‘Big 3’ era came to an end, but now Federer has suggested this year’s epic Roland Garros final between Alcaraz and Sinner was the moment when a new era of men’s tennis officially kicked-off.
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Alcaraz and Sinner have been dominating the men’s game since the start of 2024, as they have won all the Grand Slam titles during the last two years, yet Fedrerer has suggested the drama and excitement created by Alcaraz’s sensational victory against Sinner in Paris was a moment when the sporting world appreciated new superstars had arrived in tennis.
“I think the French Open, for me, was the match the game needed to move on from the post Roger, Rafa and Serena time. To truly embrace this rivalry and this incredible shotmaking that Carlos and Jannik have right now.” the 20-time Grand Slam champion told CNBC, also referencing women’s legend Serena Williams.
“I think Novak (Djokovic) is right there as well. He played in all four semis (in Grand Slams) this year in the majors, which is incredible.”
Federer was speaking from the Laver Cup venue ahead of the sell-out event, where he believes fans can look forward to a different type of event this year.
Since the start of the Laver Cup in 2017, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg have been the two team captains, but all that is changing this year.
The great Andre Agassi is taking over a Team World captain, with Team Europe being led by Frenchman Yannik Noah.
That change will bring a different dynamic to both teams and Federer is relishing the chance to see how the competition looks under new leaders.
“I think it will feel quite different, actually,” added Federer. “I think they are both extremely thoughtful, Andre and Yannik.
“I have tremendous respect for what they achieved on the court and I think Andre and Yannik are going to be incredible.”
Australian great Pat Rafter is assisting Agassi this weekend, with British tennis giant Tim Henman the new vice-captain for Team Europe.
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The post Roger Federer identifies the moment Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner started their own era appeared first on Tennis365.
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