Goven, tennis consultant: "All of a sudden, they're together".
Georges Goven, tennis consultant for Eurosport and commentator for the eighth edition of the Laver Cup, recently gave his opinion on the exhibition competition created by Roger Federer.
Accustomed to taking a rather negative view of events of this kind, he nonetheless acknowledged the charm exuded by the event: "I have a rather positive view of an event that attracts so many spectators, that brings together so many champions.
But there is a rivalry, rather like in the Ryder Cup, between Europe and the rest of the world.
It's a chance for all these players to get together a bit, whereas all year long, they're opponents.
Throughout the year, they don't talk much to each other, they never have dinner together, they don't see each other much.
All of a sudden, they're together under the same banner. I think it's nice, from a human point of view. For the moment, it's still an exhibition.
But it's very nice, because there's the public and the players. You can feel that they're playing like a normal competition, it's not an exhibition where you're laughing.
It's the players who will make this event a success. The day there are fewer and fewer top-level players who want to play it, it's dead.
The beauty of this event is that most of the top players play it."
