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John McEnroe recently opened up about how he approaches his captaining duties at the Laver Cup, stating that he was not someone who walked in and immediately told players what they should be doing.
McEnroe has been the captain of Team World since the beginning of the tournament's history, with Bjorn Borg leading the line for Team Europe for just as long. Last year saw the World team win the event for the first time ever and break Europe's monopoly on the Laver Cup.
Speaking in a press conference at this year's edition, the American said that most players in the team already have their own coaches and entourage, which he did not want to mess with.
Instead the former World No. 1 asserted that he simply tried to say something only if he knew it would make a positive difference to his players at the end of the day -- which he has gotten a feel for thanks to his years of experience.
"Well, almost every guy here has a coach with him or is speaking to a coach. So you try to understand what makes a guy tick and talk to the people around him, as well, like Fran, for example, get feedback from coach and people and what they are thinking. That's important. I'm not going to walk in, couple days, and say, This is what you're going to do," John McEnroe said.
"You hopefully have the right feel for knowing when to say something, when it's needed. I have been around the game a long time, but just look at the second set. It was a pretty unpredictable set. Both guys were battling really hard. So I think that's the question, really. That's the million-dollar question, in a way, knowing when to say something that you hope will make a positive difference. That's what I try to do," he added.
"I think it's just a great team energy, it feels awesome so far" - John McEnroe
Team World ended Day 1 with a 4-0 lead over Europe, with Ben Shelton beating Arthur Fils, Francisco Cerundolo beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Felix Auger-Aliassime downing Gael Monfils in the singles. In the doubles match, Frances Tiafoe combined with Tommy Paul to beat Andrey Rublev and Fils.
McEnroe was ecstatic with the lead his team had early on, admitting that the influx of young, new blood into the squad has helped them build a great atmosphere between the members.
"We never had a lead, so needless to say, this is a good feeling. So having been able to come back and having had some close encounters, obviously know that the first day is the first day, but we've got some young blood, some new blood, and a good mix with what we have and some people that were there last year. I think it's just a great team energy. It feels awesome so far," John McEnroe said.
