'Of course we're here for the win': Andre Agassi fires warning shot at Team Europe ahead of Laver Cup opener

Captain of the Team World, Andre Agassi, has shared his team’s perspective for the upcoming Laver Cup. The team-based competition will begin on Friday, where two teams will go head-to-head to secure the ultimate prize.

The unique aspect of this competition, which makes it very special, is that teams do not represent any country, but instead represent specific regions. Team Europe consists of players from the European continent. On the other hand, Team World will consist of players from all the other regions.

Historically, Team Europe had a clear advantage over Team World as they emerged victorious on five occasions out of the seven editions. On the other hand, Team World won two out of the last three events. Last year, Team Europe came from behind to come out on top, largely because of the heroics of the reigning world number one, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

This year, both Team World and Team Europe will have new captains in place. The former world number one Agassi will captain Team World, whereas Team Europe will be captained by the former French Open winner Yannick Noah. Team world captain Agassi recently appeared in the latest episode of the Serve with Andy Roddick podcast, where he explained his team’s objective in the upcoming competition. Agassi was of the opinion that, other than winning the contest, one of the primary objectives of the event is to give players from other parts of the world a platform and support to compete against big-name European players.

“Of course we're here for the win,” said Agassi. “With that being said, I want to be on that practise court. Rumour has it, John never went on the practise court. John McEnroe? I'm not dissing him or anything, but that to me is the best part. There's two buckets of activity. One is to hopefully give some form of north star to these players as they look towards building their career or what stage they are in their career, especially the young ones, Fonseca, Mickelson. You give them something that they can grow towards, Jensen, Brooksby. Then there's the other part, which is maybe you can add a little shortcut to accomplish what it is they feel a little more insecure about or what it is they're unsure they're looking to do. There's a little real time, and there's a little big picture. It's enjoyable to see how they process, though.”

Interesting calls

Agassi then shared the logic behind selecting certain players for the singles competition in the Davis Cup. America’s Reilly Opelka will face Norway’s Casper Ruud on the first day. On day two, Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik will face Alex Michelsen whereas Brazi’s Joao Fonseca will face Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.

"We got Opelka. Big question in my mind going into this. Are they going to play Casper Rude or Holger Rune first? They went with Casper. Casper is playing Opelka in the first match," said Agassi. "The second match, we got Mensik on their side going against Mikkelsen, which is kind of the matchup we were hoping for. Why? Well, because, first of all, they know each other well. They're the same age, grown up, playing a lot together. I could give you matchups, but I don't know if Team Euro is watching this. I like Mikkelsen's game matched up to that, and I'm comfortable with it, especially in the thickness and the slowness and lowness of this court. I'm really comfortable with pace through this court, if somebody's counting on that, because these points are going to be battle. The third match, we got Joao Fonseca who will be playing Caboli. If I'm saying that wrong, I apologise to every Italian."

Agassi then went on to explain the reason behind having arguably their best player, and the highest-ranked player, Taylor Fritz, only playing in the doubles match. Agassi stated that the team’s decision was based on the fact that Team Europe’s best player, Alcaraz, is also playing in the doubles match. He will partner with Mensik, and the two will face the pair of Fritz and Michelsen. Agassi then went on to praise the six-time Grand Slam winner.

“Then we stuck, as our doubles team, we have Taylor and Mikkelsen,” said Agassi. “Mikkelsen's fresh to the scene, meaning he's never played, but at the same time, when you play singles that day, you're going to see the ball like a melon in the double. Taylor's a believer. He's a winner. He's unflappable. He's been a rock for this team. Taylor and Mikkelsen in the doubles will be playing Alcaraz and Mensik in the evening match. It is. It kind of stood out. But every time you see Alcaraz's name on the draw, it just kind of makes everything in your body tense up a little bit. I don't know. I told him when I saw him earlier, Alcaraz, I said, whatever it's worth, I know you're the enemy here, but I can't coach you and stuff, but you've got to work on your athleticism."