Pallade Veneta - Alcaraz shrugs off pressure of packed calendar at 'joyful' Laver Cup

The three-day tournament, taking place at London's O2 Arena from Friday, is effectively a high-profile exhibition, with no ranking points on offer.

World number three Alcaraz is headlining Europe's challenge alongside US Open champion Alexander Zverev, while Team World's roster includes Australia's Alex de Minaur and former Grand Slam finalist Taylor Fritz.

The Davis Cup is well established as the top team competition in men's tennis, but the Laver Cup was launched in 2017, with Roger Federer one of the driving forces.

Alcaraz, who only returned to action at the US Open after a four-month injury lay-off, said in New York that he planned to play fewer tournaments in future, blaming an "impossible" tennis calendar for a rising number of injuries in the sport.

But the Spaniard, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, was in positive mood on the eve of the Laver Cup, saying he relished being part of a team in a sport dominated by individual competition.

"I love team events, team tournaments," the 23-year-old said. "Spending time with them, having fun, as you could see the previous year, how much fun I had on the court, off the court.

"It is a week that I might be training, I might be resting or something, but these kind of weeks help me a lot to bring my joy back on the court, bring my joy back on playing tennis.

"It helps me a lot for the next tournaments when it is not team events."

Zverev is chasing the world number one spot currently held by the sidelined Jannik Sinner after winning the French Open and US Open.

But the world number two said he was putting individual targets aside this week.

Zverev, who won the ATP Finals at the same venue in 2018, was asked whether he felt different after collecting his first two Grand Slams.

"Yes and no," the German said. "At the end of the day, we have great champions on the team who all know what it takes to win.

"For me, personally, it was quite a satisfying year but we're here at the Laver Cup as a team. I think for us, the main goal is to lift the Laver Cup trophy, to bring the Laver Cup trophy back to Europe."

The event pits six men's players from Europe against six players from the rest of the world in singles and doubles matches.

Team World defeated Team Europe 15-9 last year in San Francisco and has won three of the past four editions.

Federer brought the curtain down on his illustrious career the last time the Laver Cup was staged in London, in 2022.

N.Tartaglione--PV