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Federer looked into ways to play either Olympics or US Open

Federer, now the world No. 4, was in NY to promote the inaugural Laver Cup – a tournament named after tennis great Rod Laver that is planned for September 2017.

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“I think it’s going to have a big impact right away just because of the magnitude of Rod Laver being involved”, said 17-times slam victor Federer, now sidelined following knee surgery. Wednesday’s all-star NY launch gathering of tennis greats, the collective owners of 60 singles majors, would not have come cheaply, and nor will any of the marquee players lured to Prague’s indoor hardcourt from September 22-24, 2017. So right then, to have a chance to win a gold in doubles – especially with one of my best friends like Marc – very, very special for me. Not that I haven’t enjoyed watching him play in the past but now I’ll be really cheering him on to rip one forehand victor after another. “We’ll see how it’s going to go but I think that so far rehab has been going well and I’m looking forward to the next few months when I can start doing much more in the fitness room and also on the tennis court”.

John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg will be the two captains for at least the first three years.

“A lot of things can change in a year”, added McEnroe, noting the rise of young players coming into their own. “We have been rivals for all our career, so be in the same team and even play some doubles together will be something very, very special”. “But I care too much about my health and the game, and there’s still something possible for me down the road in tennis”.

Each team comprises six players.

Tournament organizers, who include Federer himself, plan on staging it in every year when there are no Summer Olympics, in rotating cities, and they want to eventually include a women’s competition, if the event proves successful.

Players lower down the rankings are deemed to be next in line – and could move up the list if the top four were not available.

He insisted he hasnt missed competition yet, though maybe that will change when the U.S. Open starts next week.

Nadal and Federer are on the tail end of their respective careers, but it would be hard for tennis to find a better duo to build the inaugural Laver Cup around. 12 matches will be played over three days with nine singles and three double games taking place.

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Matches will be best-of-3 with a 10-point match tiebreak in the third.

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