“Is it the Laver Cup or an ATP 250 in Marseille?” – Team Europe’s weak line-up for the 2023 Laver Cup has fans disappointed
Arthur Fils has replaced Stefanos Tsitsipas in Team Europe's lineup for the Laver Cup 2023, owing to an injury.
Laver Cup 2021 (Source: Sky Sports)
The 2023 Laver Cup is all set to start on September 22, but the fans are seemingly not satisfied with Team Europe’s weak lineup in this edition. Team World already broke Team Europe’s five-time winning streak, and the injury-stricken lineup of the latter in this edition does not give their fans any hope at all.
The initial lineup of Team Europe included Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz, Gael Monfils, and Arthur Fils as an alternate, which seemed like a pretty strong contingent. However, with the back injury of Holger Rune and the injury of Stefanos Tsitsipas, they have been replaced in the main team by Davidovich Fokina and alternate Arthur Fils, respectively.
With this, Team Europe now seems to be pretty weak, which can be easily ousted by Team World, considering how strong the doubles players are. Team World on the other hand comprises Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Francisco Cerundolo, and Ben Shelton, who are all in sensational form.
The best player that Team Europe has is Andrey Rublev, but the format of the Laver Cup is such that a team cannot win on the shoulders of just one player. Thus, things are going to be extremely difficult for Team Europe this season, and their hope of reclaiming the trophy after a massive shock in the 2022 season is under threat.
Twitter reacts to Team Europe’s weak line-up for the 2023 Laver Cup
Last year, Team Europe had the likes of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal, and they still ended up losing to Team USA. Thus, the anger of the fans after seeing this year’s weak team is justified. Although Team Europe has a 4-1 lead over Team USA, giving that away so cheaply is simply not done.
Some fans have gone to the extent of calling Team Europe an ATP 250 roster on Twitter. Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, let us take a look at how fans have reacted to Team Europe’s lineup on the Internet.
It was a series of injuries that led to the gradual weakening of Team Europe’s contingent this season, and it would be unfair to blame it on the organizers. However, it is true that Team USA will have a clear advantage in the 2023 Laver Cup, and they are the favorites to defend their trophy and make the record 4-2.
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Rishab Dutta
(794 Articles Published)