Europe’s tourist season might be over for another year, but thousands of people will still descend upon Prague this weekend to watch the inaugural Laver Cup 2017.
Named after tennis icon Rod Laver, the three day tournament will see some of the best talent in the sport come together to compete for the Laver Cup.
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However, the Laver Cup isn’t your typical tennis competition. Rather than the standard randomly populated brackets, this tournament sees a Europe team face off against a World team at Prague’s O2 Arena.
Each match is worth a set number of points. At the end of the event, the team with the most points will take home the cup.
While more of an exhibition event that an actual competition, the tournaments creators, Roger Federer, Jorge Paulo Lemann and Tennis Australia, hope to bring a little variety to the tennis calendar.
Laver Cup schedule: When is the tournament taking place?
The tournament will kick off on Friday, September 22 at 1PM CEST and run until the final session comes to an end on Sunday, September 24.
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By GlobalDataOnly a few matchups have been announced so far.
It is up to the team captains to decide who will feature in each match just 24 hours before it starts. However, each player must feature in at least one singles match.
In total, there will be five sessions held. Two sessions are scheduled for Friday, two on Saturday and one on the Sunday.
| Day | Session | Match |
| Friday, September 21 | Session 1 – 1PM CEST | Singles – Match 1 Cilic vs Tiafoe |
| Singles – Match 2 Thiem vs Isner |
||
| Session 2 – 7PM CEST | Singles – Match 3 Zverev vs Shapovalov |
|
| Doubles – Match 4 | ||
| Saturday, September 22 | Session 3 – 1PM CEST | Singles – Match 5 |
| Singles – Match 6 | ||
| Session 4 – 7PM CEST | Singles – Match 7 | |
| Doubles – Match 8 | ||
| Sunday, September 23 | Session 5 – 12PM CEST | Singles – Match 9 |
| Singles – Match 10 | ||
| Singles – Match 11 | ||
| Doubles – Match 12 |
Who will be playing at the Laver Cup 2017?
Team Europe will play under Swedish tennis icon Bjorn Borg, while Team World will be captained by American star John McEnroe. Enemies on the court in their day, the two will renew their rivalry in Prague this weekend.
Each team will be made up of six current professionals. Eight of those were granted a place in the tournament based on their current ATP singles ranking. The two coaches were tasked with selecting the remaining four.
Team Europe is undeniably the stronger side. Three of the top four ranked players – Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev – have made the team. They are joined by Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem and Tomas Berdych.
Team World will be without star man Milos Raonic due to an injury suffered leading up to the US Open. “Tennis bad boy” Nick Kyrgios has been drafted in his place. He is joined by Sam Querry, John Isner, Jack Sock, Frances Tiafoe and Denis Shapovalov.
We won’t know who will be facing who ahead of the event. However, fans are eager to see Nadal and Federer join forces for a game of doubles.
| Team | Player | Rank |
| Team Europe | Rafael Nadal | 1 |
| Roger Federer | 2 | |
| Alexander Zverev | 4 | |
| Marin Cilic | 5 | |
| Dominic Thiem | 7 | |
| Tomas Berdych | 19 | |
| Team World | Sam Querry | 16 |
| John Isner | 17 | |
| Nick Kyrgios | 20 | |
| Jack Sock | 21 | |
| Denis Shapovalov | 51 | |
| Frances Tiafoe | 72 |
Are Laver Cup tickets still available?
The tournament kicks off tomorrow and the O2 Arena is expected to reach its 18,000 capacity, but it isn’t too late to grab a ticket.
Sports fans are seemingly keen to watch the winning side accept the trophy, as Sunday tickets are sold out.
However, there are still single tickets available for Friday and Saturday’s sessions. Likewise, there are still a limited number of five session tickets available, but these come with a fairly hefty cost.
Ticket prices vary depending on your seating selection. For example, front row seat will set you back by 54,900 Czech koruna (approximately $2,200). The cheapest tickets are available in the upper-tiers of the arena, costing 4,500 Czech koruna ($180).
Full details can be found on the Laver Cup website.
Will the Laver Cup be on TV?
Sports fans are able to watch the Laver Cup on television. However, you will need a Sky Sports subscription to tune in.
The sports channel will be playing the action at times throughout the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You can also watch live coverage via the red button.
