Yesterday I spent a whole day at the Laver Cup in Geneva. I got to play on the practice courts, try the new Laver Cup Pro Staff and watch some great tennis.
The reason I got to spend an amazing day at the Laver Cup is thanks to Wilson tennis. They invited me a week ago to meet them in Geneva and how could I say no to that?
The day started with a hit on the Laver Cup practice court. Wilson had gathered a small team of representatives from various regions and we all got to try the Laver Cup Pro Staff RF97 
Autograph (link to Amazon) and the other racquets in the current Wilson line-up.
The court played fast and the racquet played like the RF97 should, heavy and solid. I have been bothered by a wrist injury lately so I decided to use the softer and lighter Blade for most of the hit. But I will do a video with the Laver Cup Pro Staff RF97 as well when I am back in Malta.
A day at the Laver Cup – The Tour
After playing tennis for a little more than an hour, we had breakfast in the exclusive VIP lounge (called “The 200 Club” after Rod Lavers 200 titles on tour). And then we got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Palexpo arena where the Laver Cup is hosted. This included a visit to the string room where I got the see some of the players’ racquets up close. Sadly, I couldn’t go around touching them too much so I can’t reveal any new specs here. But everyone seemed to use a slightly higher tension than normal due to the fast court.
The visit to the stringing room was great, but walking through the player rooms onto the court to watch a short practice between Fognini and Thiem was even better. I also got the opportunity to exchange some words with “Ice Man” himself, Mr Bjorn Borg. Bjorn is a legend of the game and seems like a really nice guy too. You tell how much he likes being the captain at the Laver Cup. And it is not surprising, the Laver Cup is quickly becoming one of the most exciting tennis events of the year for both players and fans.
A day at the Laver Cup – The Best Experience in Tennis?
The venue and scenery at the Laver Cup was nothing short of spectacular. I have been to a lot of tennis tournaments, big and small in my life, but this was by far the most exciting tennis experience. Everything is blacked-out, the screens are huge, the music is like out of an Avengers battle scene, the announcer is like taken from the boxing ring – everything just adds up to make it the most dramatic and spell-binding experience a tennis fan can get.
Besides all the drama on the court with a lot of tight matches, where the players on the bench are jumping up and down, pumping up their player and a brilliant Rafa&Roger coaching session of Fabio Fognini, the most goosebumps-inducing experience was the intro. All the players and captains were introduced to Hollywood style music and the crowd went absolutely nuts when Nadal and Federer entered the court. It was just a fantastic celebration of tennis. If you’re not a tennis fan, this is what you should watch to get into the game. It is the best possible PR for the sport ever made.
All in all, it was a fantastic day at the Laver Cup. I can really recommend anyone to visit this event. Thanks to Wilson Tennis for inviting and thanks to Roger Federer and his team for coming up with the brilliant Laver Cup.
PS. Video to come. DS.
Are you watching the Laver Cup? What do you think about the event?
1 comment
The only real game are the super tie-break. The rest of the game is fake.
The matches are agreed and last for what the sponsors want commercially.
When thanks to that the tie is very decompensated, they put another game with victory for the other team and thus keep the emotion until the final Sunday.
Curiously, most matches are resolved in super tie-break.