"Novak Djokovic is the clean man; whereas I'm afraid of the megalomaniacal side of Roger Federer" - Journalist lashes out at Laver Cup scheduling

French journalist Benoit Maylin has expressed displeasure with Roger Federer over the scheduling of the Laver Cup.

The Laver Cup is an international indoor hardcourt men's tournament that has been held annually since 2017. Players are picked based on their world rankings and get paid for participating. However, the event does not carry any ranking points, unlike all other events on the ATP tour.

The tournament was created by Federer's management company TEAM8 in partnership with former Davis Cup player Jorge Paulo Lemann and Tennis Australia.

Journalist Maylin, in his show Sans Filet, has questioned Federer's real intentions and criticized the scheduling and nature of the Laver Cup. He said that Federer doesn't deserve the favorable status he enjoys in the world of tennis, just as Novak Djokovic's negative image is far from the truth.

"The older I get, the more I start to ask myself questions about the image I have of Federer and the image I had of Djokovic. And the more we move forward in time, the more I realize that Djokovic is the clean man of tennis," he said (via welovetennis.fr).

Maylin further said that while Djokovic has tried his best to help his fellow professionals through the creation of the Professional Tennis Players Association, Federer is serving his own interests with things like the Laver Cup.

"It's him who created the PTPA, who tries to ensure that as much money as possible is redistributed, even on the secondary circuit, whereas for Federer, I'm starting to be a little afraid of the megalomaniacal side of the guy who when even created a competition, which is not in his name, but it is still his thing," Maylin said.

The timing of the Laver Cup was also questioned by Maylin, who pointed to how other tournaments, like the Moselle Open, were affected by its scheduling.

"And it's only for the stars, it's not for the little players. Again, why didn't he put this together at the end of the year? Why did he want to edit this in the middle of the season to fuck up because, honestly, this story is fucking up," he continued.

"Look at Metz (the ATP 250), they were forced to move it otherwise the tournament was dead. And you realize that little by little they are going to make this week of the Laver Cup empty. Once again, if it evolves, it's because it's Federer who wants it," Maylin added.

Maylin further backed his claims by stating that Federer has a history of doing things that only suit him. He recalled how the 20-time Grand Slam champion played an exhibition event with Alexander Zverev in 2019 in the same week as the Davis Cup.

"Look at Federer in 2019, when he goes to do his exhibition with Zverev in Latin America, he does this at the same time as Davis Cup week. He shits on the Davis Cup by doing this anyway," he said.

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Roger Federer retired at Laver Cup 2022 and returned in a spectator capacity this year

Roger Federer walks onto the court during day one of the 2023 Laver Cup.

Roger Federer's long and trophy-filled career came to an end at the Laver Cup last year. His final match was a doubles contest alongside long-time rival-turned-friend Rafael Nadal.

It wasn't a fairytale ending though, as Federer and Nadal lost 4-6, 7-6 (2), 11-9 to the American pair of Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe at the O2 Arena in London.

This year, the event was held at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, where Team World successfully defended its title by beating Team Europe 13-2.

Federer was present at the tournament this year, albeit in a non-playing capacity. Following Team Europe's defeat, the Swiss maestro even shared his ideal lineup for next year's event.

"I would like to see Novak again to be honest. I would love to see actually Alcaraz and Novak on the same team. Love to see that happen. Zverev would be great for the German market," Federer said. (via Eurosport)

"Someone like [Holger] Rune, he pulled out too and that really hurt Team Europe. Losing [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and Rune. There's a lot to choose from, [Daniil] Medvedev obviously would be great. I like watching [Andrey] Rublev as well," he added.