The Stockholm lineup is headed by Grigor Dimitrov and Andrey Rublev

The first match for Andrey Rublev will be against either Leo Borg (son of Swedish tennis great Bjorn Borg) or Alexander Muller. Rublev is currently ranked eighth and wants to make it to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin for the fifth year in a row.

Dimitrov is going back to the Swedish capital, Stockholm, where he won his first title in 2013. It’s either going to be Quentin Halys or Sumit Nagal for the Bulgarian player. There are 645 points between him and eighth-placed Rublev in the ATP Live Race right now. Jannik Sinner beat Dimitrov to win the Miami Open. He also made it to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the US Open, as well as the final in Marseille and the semifinals in Rotterdam. Him or Quentin Halys will be his opponent.

They are going to play Casper Ruud and Lorenzo Sonego. Ruud is seventh in the ATP Live Race to Turin right now. Tommy Paul is ranked 11th in the Lice ATP Race to Turin right now. In the first round, he will play either Pedro Martinez or a reserve.

Stan Wawrinka, a Swiss wild card, is back in Stockolm, where he lost to Roger Federer in three sets in 2010.

The match between 2021 Wimbledon champion Matteo Berrettini and Luciano Darderi, who are both from Italy, is one of the most interesting in the first round. When he came back, Berrettini won three races: Marrakesh, Gstaad, and Kitzbuehl. He won his first title in Cordoba on clay in February of last year.

The event is being run by Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten. They will try to win their fourth title of the year, following wins in Marrakesh, Lyon, and Wimbledon. Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski, the second seeds, will be in the line-up.

Almaty:

Frances Tiafoe, who has won three ATP Tour titles, is here to try to win his first title of the season. In the US Open, the player lost to Taylor Fritz in the semifinals. In the Cincinnati Open, he lost to Jannik Sinner in the final and came in second place. The last three times Tiafoe won a title were in Delray Beach in 2018, Houston in 2023, and Stuttgart in 2023. He will start his season against either Taro Daniel or a reserve.

The season was a big one for Alejandro Tabilo. The Chilean player began the season ranked 85th in the world and reached his peaks of 19th and 19th. He won two things in Auckland and Mallorca, and in Rome, he made it to the semifinals. Either Damir Dzumhur or Maximilian Marterer will be the second seed’s opponent.

In Paris, Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova won the gold medal in the mixed pairs event. In order to get to the semifinals of the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, the Czech player beat this year’s Wimbledon and Roland Garros winner Carlos Alcaraz and advanced to the Tokyo semifinals. There, he lost to Jannik Sinner. In the first round, Machac will go up against Timofey Skatov, who is a local favorite. On the team are also Alexander Schevchenko, ranked 58th in the world, and Beibit Zhukayev.

Antwerp:

After being hurt, top seed Alex De Minaur will play again. The Aussie player hasn’t played in an event since the US Open, where he made it to the quarterfinals. Either Roberto Carballes Baena or Dominik Koepfer will be his opponent.

The second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is going for his second title of the season. In Monte-Carlo, he won the Masters 1000 Trophy. The Greek player and his brother Petros won the doubles title in Antwerp. He will fight either Giovanni Mpetchi Perricard or another Frenchman.

Thomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina will play Richard Gasquet of France in the first round. Gasquet is a wildcard and won the Antwerp title in 2016.

When it comes to singles, Zizou Bergs, Alexander Blokx, and Raphael Collignon are the best Belgian players. In pairs, Sander Gille and Joran Vilegen are the best.

Kevin Krawietz and Andres Mies won the doubles event at the 2019 European Open. The German player will play with Tim Puetz this year. The Germans’ first games will be against Edouard Roger Vasselin and Santiago Gonzales.

Captains’ farewell: Laver Cup honors Borg and McEnroe

Team Europe and Team World’s legendary captains retire from competition after seven years

The legendary figures of former competitors and current friends Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe were a major draw for spectators at the 2017 inaugural Laver Cup team tournament.

Sharing his experience in Berlin, McEnroe said, “It’s pretty hard to top that for me personally” to be able to watch his brother serving as his right-hand man while also seeing Bjorn Borg, his greatest opponent and wonderful friend.

Over the last seven tournaments, the two tennis greats have shared innumerable thrills, culminating in Sunday’s most spectacular comeback victory for Team Europe and Borg’s fifth title. It has been an incredible opportunity for the guys participating in the Laver Cup to meet two of their heroes.

“Somewhat surreal.”

Both the European and the World teams’ players use the term “legend” when describing their leaders. The chance to learn from the greatest has been seized by European Laver Cup rookie Flavio Cobolli and World Laver Cup rookie Alejandro Tabilo.

“To have even a small amount of interaction with Borg is very meaningful to me,” Cabolli said with a grin. “You know, I want to express my gratitude for everything because I was born with him and John playing only on YouTube.”

Yes, it’s fantastic to have a legend like McEnroe giving us suggestions and everything,” Tabilo said. It goes without saying that I want to make use of it, ideally throughout the whole of the year. throughout my professional life.

Some of the other players have played in the Laver Cup more often and are therefore somewhat used to that level of contact. However, the butterflies in the stomach felt when first meeting the legendary are vividly recalled by everybody.

“I was a little anxious to play for Bjorn and meet him the first time I was on the team because I didn’t know him very well,” Casper Ruud said.

Being Norwegian and him being Swedish, we have a tight bond; he is a genuinely kind person, and we have had a great time together. For me, the most significant part of my first Cup was playing in the opening match of the tie when the whole squad, including him, was there to cheer me on.

“An extraordinary item”

Being in McEnroe’s presence has been a life-changing event for Taylor Fritz.

It’s been incredible to have him on the bench and in the game. “He’s simply a legend,” he said.

Being in his company and having him lead us is an honor. All I’ve done is try to absorb all the information and what he stated.

Taylor Fritz says he’s enjoyed soaking up McEnroe’s expertise at the Laver Cup.

Another factor that stays with the most successful Laver Cup player, Alexander Zverev, is the assistance provided by the bench.

“Borg is quite legendary. On the whole, he thought it had been a tremendous blessing to have him as a bench warmer for the last seven years, he said.

“Although our generation only knows him from films and YouTube videos, hearing his stories about the tennis life of yesteryear is an incredible experience.”

What will be most missed is the unique quality of that connection.

Stefanos Tsitsipas expressed his difficulty in saying goodbye to it.

“With every farewell, there’s likely to be a new beginning with different people and different goals, but, you know, I’m going to miss them very much.”

With an eye on the future

The Laver Cup has a promising future, even if Borg and McEnroe’s reign is coming to an end. Two new captains, Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi, will lead Team World and Team Europe to unprecedented heights. Chair Tony Godsick believes the Laver Cup will continue to play an important part in tennis’s future.

Participants in this event are essentially seated on the bench with the Borgs and McEnroes. Rod Laver is also present. Boris Becker, Michael Stich, and Steffi Graf were all present this year. A opportunity to see them, if ever, is out of the question for these athletes, he said.

I believe it’s crucial for the history, the aesthetics, and the substance that the Laver Cup will give a meeting place for these sorts of players every year. Viewers are interested in these exchanges. Consequently, we’re hoping that the Tennis Channel will get a taste of it.