Tennis fans have reacted to Carlos Alcaraz's statement calling the Laver Cup a "serious competition." The Spaniard is set to join top European stars for his debut at the event scheduled to begin later this week.
Following an underwhelming campaign at the 2024 US Open, Alcaraz helped his nation to top their group in the Davis Cup Finals. The 21-year-old won his singles and doubles matches to set up a clash against either Germany or the Netherlands in the quarterfinal in November.
Meanwhile, the Spaniard is preparing to represent Team Europe against Team World at the Laver Cup. The event will be held at the Uber Arena in Berlin from 20 to 22 September, 2024.
Speaking recently, Alcaraz shared his thoughts on the event and on participating in it.
He said he said (via lavercup.com),
"I love it and I wanted to be part of it. It’s a serious competition. I think we have to represent Europe in the best way possible. The prestige that this tournament has, and being a Laver Cup champion, is a huge thing."
His comments were shared on X (formerly Twitter) by a fan. In the replies, many fans disagreed with the young Spaniard's words regarding the importance of the event.
A fan said,
"Blink twice if you’re held at gunpoint while saying this @/carlosalcaraz"
Another fan added,
"Can someone tell him patriotism only matters during the olympics like enough of this nonsense now…"
"No-one has ever used Laver cup and serious competition in the same sentence ever .... Carlitos I love you but be fr😭😭😭" a third fan wrote.
Here are some more fan reactions to Carlos Alcaraz's comments:
"They are paid to say this for sure because no way 😭😭😭" one fan commented.
"Nah He’s joking,,,no one gives a toss about the pr tournament 😭" another fan said.
"Hahaha… well if he needs to remind people then it’s pretty unserious if you ask me 😄" yet another fan wrote.
The 2024 Laver Cup will be the seventh edition of the tournament which awards the members of its winning team $250,000 each. Roger Federer's management company, TEAM8, along with other entities partnered to create the event.
Carlos Alcaraz looking forward to bonding with Team Europe at 2024 Laver Cup
Carlos Alcaraz shared his thoughts about participating in the 2024 Laver Cup and spending time with his Team Europe teammates. He will be joined by Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, Daniil Medvedev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
"We are going to laugh a lot, I’m sure about it. Having a lot of time with them and speaking with them about something else, not only tennis, is going to be different … and I like different things,” Alcaraz said.
Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Alejandro Tabilo, Francisco Cerúndolo, and Thanasi Kokkinakis will represent Team World. The captains will be Bjorn Borg for Team Europe and John McEnroe for Team World.
Team Europe won the first four editions of the event and Team World has been on the winning end in the past two editions.