CHICAGO, United States – Wimbledon runner-up Kevin Anderson, world No 8 John Isner, and Argentine young gun Diego Schwartzman will join Team World at the Laver Cup in Chicago from September 21 to 23.
The three top 15 players will join world No 4 Juan Martin del Potro and Australian (18) Nick Kyrgios, McEnroe’s first ‘captain’s pick’ for the team. The Laver Cup is a three-day tournament pitting a team of six of the best tennis players from Europe against six of their counterparts from the rest of the world.
Anderson defeated John Isner in a marathon final set of their men’s singles semifinal match at Wimbledon in July. Anderson won the match 7-6 6-7 6-7 6-4 26-24. This year has been a revelation for the South African, the epitome of a player who has been a total professional for his entire career and is now reaping the rewards of consistent hard work.
Anderson may have lost to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, but his defeat of Roger Federer on his favourite surface, and gritty win over Isner in the marathon semifinal, saw him hit a career-high ranking of world No.5 and win many new fans.
Anderson is looking forward to ‘coming home’ to Chicago for the Laver Cup, having spent three seasons playing college tennis at the University of Illinois, where he was a three-time All-American in singles and two-time All-American in doubles.
“I’m incredibly excited about playing the Laver Cup in Chicago this year, and to be playing with such a high-quality group of guys in just the second event is really a huge honour for me,” Anderson said. “I watched the event last year and thought it was wonderful and I can’t wait to join our captain, John McEnroe, who is a legend of the game of tennis, and the rest of our team – it’s an amazing opportunity.
"My feet literally felt on fire" 😲🔥 @KAndersonATP walks us through his unforgettable experience at @Wimbledon2018 pic.twitter.com/kIavwxZWNU
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) July 19, 2018
“It will be great to have John Isner on my side as a teammate instead of having to face him on the other side of the net. Our very long Wimbledon semi-final was definitely memorable but it’s not an experience I’m keen to repeat anytime soon!”
Björn Borg is captain of Team Europe and John McEnroe is captain of Team World.