Laver Cup Day1 LIVE: The day that all Tennis fans waited for is finally here, but it will also be a day that nobody wanted to witness. The bitter sweet day will be filled with all kinds of emotions as the Laver Cup is set to get underway on Friday, 23rd September with Roger Federer gearing up to play the final match of his glittering career. He will be in action in the last match of the day alongside Rafael Nadal. Meanwhile, Casper Ruud and Jack Sock will begin the action for the day by facing each other in the singles at 5 pm IST. Follow Laver Cup 2022 LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Laver Cup Day1 LIVE: Roger Federer set to grace Tennis courts for one last time as the fifth edition of Laver Cup gets underway – Follow LIVE updates
Laver Cup Day 1 Schedule
Casper Ruud vs Jack Sock – 5.30 PM
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Diego Schwartyzman – 6.50 PM
Andy Murray vs Alex de Minaur – 11.30 PM
Roger Federer / Rafael Nadal vs Jack Sock / Frances Tiafoe – 12.50 AM
Casper Ruud vs Jack Sock
Casper Ruud, who is the top-ranked player in the Laver Cup will begin the action for Team Europe as he faces Jack Sock from Team World in the first men’s singles contest of the day. Casper Ruud has been in terrific touch this year as he finished as runner-up at the French Open and the US Open. He enters the Laver Cup after helping Norway defeat India in the Davis Cup World Group Qualifier tie. This is Ruud’s second appearance in the Laver Cup as he made his debut in the tournament last year and defeated Reilly Opelka.
Meanwhile, Jack Sock is the 128th ranked player in the world and will be an underdog in the upcoming contest. A former top-10 player, Sock however has been part of the Team World squad in the Laver Cup in the past and enjoys a 1-2 win-loss record in singles in the tournament. He will look to put up a fight against the World No.2. Both the players will be facing each other for the first time in their career.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Diego Schwartzman
Stefanos Tsitsipas is making his return to the circuit after facing a first round defeat at the US Open this year. He was defeated by qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan. Tsitsipas however looks to put his poor showing in Grand Slam tournaments behind and start afresh at the Laver Cup, as he faces Diego Schwartzman on the singles on Friday. The Greek is making his third appearance in the tournament and hasn’t lost a singles match so far.
Meanwhile, Schwartzman is ranked 17th in the world and has a fairly decent run this year in the ATP Tour. He last featured in the ATP Tour at the US Open, where he was ousted from the second round. Much recently he lost in the Davis Cup contest against Sweden’s Mikael Ymer and now looks to get back to winning ways.
Both the players faced each other five times in the past and Tsitsipas has a 3-2 lead in the head-to-head record against the Argentine. They faced three times in this year alone with Tsitsipas winning two matches. Their most recent meeting was at the Cincinnati Masters with Tsitsipas winning in straight sets.
Andy Murray vs Alex de Minaur
35-year old Andy Murray is all set to make his Laver Cup debut as he takes on Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the singles contest. Murray is entering Laver Cup after his appearance in the Davis Cup, before that he featured in the US Open and made a third round exit from the Grand Slam tournament. He would want to live up to he expectation of playing at home and help his team get a point by winning the contest as he takes on Minaur, who has beat him once in the past.
Minaur meanwhile enters after being on a good form recently. He last played in the Davis Cup and won both his matches against Benjamin Bonzi and David Goffin. The 22nd ranked player is making his Laver Cup debut and will look to defeat Murray who is a lesser-ranked player than him. They last played in the China Open in 2019 with Minaur winning the contest in three sets.
Roger Federer / Rafael Nadal vs Frances Tiafoe / Jack Sock
The biggest match of the day will be the doubles contest between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and Team World’s Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. Two of the greatest players of the sport in the Open era will team up for the second time at the Laver Cup and this iconic contest will be the final time Federer will grace the Tennis courts. Having Nadal on his side, the Swiss legend would look to sign off with a victory. However he is set to play a competitive Tennis match after being out of action for more than a year and his form remains a big concern.
Meanwhile, Nadal will be up against Frances Tiafoe, who beat him much recently at the US Open in the fourth round. The American pair is in top form at the moment as Sock too is a doubles specialist in recent times and will pose a serious challenge to the Swiss-Spanish duo. Speaking about facing the two legends, Tiafoe said, “Both the guys are absolute legends and obviously it’s Roger’s last dance. But we’re definitely just out there trying to get a win.”
Laver Cup Day1 LIVE: Roger Federer set to grace Tennis courts for one last time as the fifth edition of Laver Cup gets underway – Follow LIVE updates
Editors pick
