Laver Cup in London, Day 1, Friday, 23/09/2022
It’s that time again, the English capital is ready: The Laver Cup 2022 is in the starting blocks! Team Europe will compete against Team World, the concentrated world elite has gathered in London. This year, the tournament is likely to be even classier than ever before.
It will be a very special weekend in London. Not only because the best in the world will be there, but also because Roger Federer, a player who will probably never be seen again, will be saying goodbye.
But the Swiss will no longer be competing in the singles. Instead, there will be two players who have been in relatively poor form lately. So my Tsitsipas Schwartzman tip is about whether this point goes to Europe or not. Betano, at any rate, is quite convinced of that!
For three days, tennis fans will be staring spellbound into the O2 Arena in the heart of London. For many, this Laver Cup will be a sad one, because Roger Federer’s career is coming to an end, one that they would have liked to have accompanied forever.
The Swiss, of course, will be competing in Team Europe and will be joined by Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek was selected for one of the three singles on Friday.
After recent very changeable performances, he will have to face Diego Schwartzman from Argentina. It is not the first time for Tsitsipas to serve in the Laver Cup. He has been on the court once in each of the last two years.
And he did so very successfully: in 2021, he beat Nick Kyrgios straight up, and a year earlier, he beat Taylor Fritz in three sets. In this respect, a competition is now taking place that suits him perfectly. A positive result would be particularly important for the final phase of the season.
Tsitsipas was actually one of the favourites for the title at the US Open, but made a complete fool of himself. He was eliminated in the 1st round, losing 0-6, 1-6, 6-3, 5-7 to Daniel Galan. A performance that was inexplicable, especially in the first two sets.
He had been in the final in Cincinnati, but lost it clearly to Borna Coric. In the course of this tournament, his path also crossed that of Diego Schwartzman. 6-3, 6-3, and with only four breaks and 15 chances, Tsitsipas advanced easily.
The two have already met a total of five times and the lead goes to Greece at 3-2. On Friday, duel number 4 will take place in this year 2022! Will Tsitsipas be able to claim his third victory?
After the first two matches of the year were narrowly decided in three sets in Tsitsipas’ favour, the most recent one was much clearer. This is probably one of the reasons why the German betting companies are taking a rather cautious stance.
With odds of 1.40 to 2.85, they do opt for Tsitsipas, but with a moderate lead. Diego Schwartzman has not yet had any luck at the Laver Cup, and he is looking for his first win in his third appearance.
Four years ago he lost to David Goffin in three sets, and in 2021 he lost to Andrey Rublev by the same length. So while Tsitsipas has two wins, Schwartzman lost both matches.
But while the Greek immediately packed his bags in New York, Schwartzman did a little better. He failed in round 3, but with 6-7, 4-6, 4-6 against Nick Kyrgios, one can definitely lose once.
Before that, he had won against Jack Sock and Alexei Popyrin. Here his performance was rather mediocre. Sock had to retire after a clear lead, against Popyrin Schwartzman only managed a 7-6, 7-5, 7-6
My Tsitsipas Schwartzman tip
Neither Stefanos Tsitsipas nor Diego Schwartzman bring the form they actually wanted for the Laver Cup. After a relatively weak US Open, which is especially true for Tsitsipas, things can really only get better.
Tsitsipas is in possession of the Laver Cup, but his current opponent is not. Moreover, the Greek is leading in the direct comparison against Schwartzman. Of course, we must not be blinded by recent performances, the Laver Cup is a completely different place.
In the end, it’s also about inspiring the fans in London. Since both players show some weaknesses, I don’t expect one to outplay the other. Therefore, my guess is:
We see more than 19,5 Games!
