The 6th edition of the recently concluded Laver Cup got off to an underwhelming start last Friday and was marred by controversies. Tennis fans lashed out at the tournament management for exorbitant ticket prices, which were brought down later. Some fans called out the lack of intensity on display and questioned the exhibition nature of the event. One of the fans labeled the tournament as Roger Federer‘s retirement anniversary event.
French journalist Benoit Maylin joined the bandwagon as he lashed out at Federer for introducing the tournament in the middle of the tennis calendar. Sharing his changed perspective on Federer and Novak Djokovic on the ‘Sans Filet’ podcast, Benoit said, “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.”
Novak Djokovic is the founder of PTPA, which strives to provide players with a self-governance structure that is independent from the ATP and is directly responsive to players’ needs and concerns. Praising Djokovic for the initiative, Benoit said, “It’s him who created the PTPA, who tries to ensure that as much money as possible is redistributed, even on the secondary circuit.”
Calling out Federer’s desire for power, which he claims is behind Roger Federer ‘creating’ the Laver Cup, Benoit labeled him as a ‘Megalomaniac’. The French journalist also questioned the participation of just “star players” and the absence of “little players”.
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French Journalist questions the timing of Laver Cup as he lashes out at Roger Federer
Questioning the timing of the event, Benoit said, “Why didn’t he put this together at the end of the year? Why did he want to play this in the middle of the season to f**k up because, honestly, this story is f***ing up. Look at Metz (the ATP 250), they were forced to move it otherwise the tournament was dead.”
The journalist also suspected that Roger Federer wanted to destroy the Davis Cup through the Laver Cup. “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. 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 sh*ts on the Davis Cup by doing this anyway,” he explained.
Novak Djokovic recently played at the Davis Cup where he helped Serbia reach the last 8 of the tournament to be played in Malaga in November. The 36-year-old continued his winning ways with a 6-3, 6-4 Davis Cup win against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday. Djokovic’s victory clinched the tie for Serbia.
Meanwhile, Team World defended their Laver Cup title in Vancouver, Canada. They comprehensively defeated Team Europe 13-2 at the Annual team tournament. Ben Shelton/Frances Tiafoe d. Andrey Rublev/Hubert Hurkacz, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) as the defending champions needed just one match on Sunday to win the tie.
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