Laver Cup needs stars like Raducanu and Fernandez – Match Points excerpt
In the latest episode of Match Points, Marion Bartoli, Carole Bouchard and Simon Cambers discuss the future of the Laver Cup – and what needs to be done to ensure it captures a wider audience
The Laver Cup is up and running in Boston – but could the invitational event be more attractive to more fans if it integrated some of the top female stars?
In the latest episode of Match Points, host Josh Cohen asked former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli and journalists Carole Bouchard and Simon Cambers for their views.
BARTOLI: PEOPLE WOULD PAY MONEY TO SEE TOP WOMEN
Bartoli was purring at the thought of US Open champion Emma Raducanu on Team Europe with runner-up Leylah Fernandez on Team World.
“I think it would be so interesting to see some mixed doubles – even singles, obviously,” she said. “Let’s say a mixed doubles
between Emma (Raducanu) and Novak (Djokovic) against Leylah (Fernandez) and Felix (Auger-Aliassime), for example. That would have been something a lot of people would pay for.”
ITF HINTS ON HOPMAN CUP REPLACEMENT
Cambers agreed that a mixed event is the way forward – and would go some way to filling the gap left by the absence of the Hopman Cup.
“I think the ITF has been hinting about a Hopman Cup replacement recently,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be great if you just merged the two things, Hopman Cup – Laver Cup-style? You know, a slightly different format, but with the women there.”
BOUCHARD: LAVER CUP NEEDS FEDERER
Bouchard suggested that the Laver Cup would sit better elsewhere in the schedule – but as well as adding tennis’s female stars, it needs to have its mastermind there to draw the spotlight.
“It’s tricky to bring another event in tennis right now – there’s so many tournaments,” she said. “But they need Roger (Federer).
They can’t survive without Roger.”
