Carlos Alcaraz, the biggest star in men’s tennis, ready for Laver Cup

All eyes are on Carlos Alcaraz the world No and the majority popular sportsman in all of men s tennis as he spends his weekend in San Francisco trying once again to lead Group Europe to win in the Laver Cup He s the main attraction at this eighth annual event which runs Friday-Sunday at Chase Center just like he is at pretty much every tournament that he plays in at any location around the globe Most of consider him the new face of men s tennis a -year-old Spanish superstar who amazingly already has a half-dozen Grand Slam victories under his belt Yet being the global ambassador for an entire sport is a lot of weight to put on a young sportsman s shoulders Well at least it would be if Alcaraz allowed himself to be concerned with such titles I don t think about being the best ambassador or have the pressure to do it Alcaraz reported during a Laver Cup press conference on Thursday I think we all tennis players in general are ambassadors of tennis to just do great tennis It s all about the sport for Alcaraz just like it is in seemingly every point that he plays And that unbridled enthusiasm and love for the meeting of tennis is arguably the No reason why he s been able to win over legions of fans in a relatively short amount of time I try my best in every match Alcaraz says I love playing tennis I love playing great points great shots And I try to show that in the match It s not something that I do it because I have to engage the people I just do it because I love doing those things Carlos Alcaraz of Group Europe reacts during a practice session prior to the start of the Laver Cup at Chase Center on Sept in San Francisco California Photo by Ezra Shaw Getty Images for Laver Cup Alcaraz is the biggest name on the incredibly deep Unit Europe which also boasts world No Alexander Zverev Germany No Holger Rune Denmark No Casper Rudd Norway No Jakub Mensik Czechoslovakia and No Flavio Cobolli Italy The six-member squad is led by captain Yannick Noah France who won the French Open in and vice captain Tim Henman who was the British No participant in and - Alcaraz and Mensik will square off against against a pair of Americans Taylor Fritz and Michelsen representing Squad World in a doubles match on Friday night at Chase Besides world No Fritz and No Michelsen the Club World roster also includes No Alex de Minaur Australia No Francisco Cerundolo Argentina No Jo o Fonseca Brazil and No Reilly Opelka U S A Pat Rafter who is assisting tennis legend and former Bay Area resident Andre Agassi in captaining Band World certainly knows his squad is facing quite a challenge in trying to stop Alcaraz Alcaraz is a weapon He s someone who is at the top of his battle right now say Rafter a two-time U S Open champ The guy has serious power He s a great athlete Although Gang Europe has Alcarez and generally speaking a higher-ranked group of players Squad World also has an ace up its sleeve The home crowd I definitely think there s home court advantage in the Laver Cup says Zverev reflecting on Crew Europe s come-from-behind win at the Laver Cup We felt it extremely last year when we played in Berlin We were down all the way until basically the last match The crowd really pushed us through certain of those matches I really think now after eight years the Laver Cup is something that the crowd really enjoys and they cheer not only for their favorite sportsman but they also cheer for where they are from Zverev expects the Chase Center crowd to be fully behind Gang World But that s nothing new for these players Zverev adds They are used to dealing with regional crowd biases at tour stops around the globe expect if you are called Carlos Alcaraz When Alcaraz plays he s the fan favorite says Zverez noting the Spaniard s massive global popularity Alcaraz comes into San Francisco on a massive roll having just captured the U S Open crown and recapturing the No ranking from chief rival Jannik Sinner who had just defeated Alcaraz at Wimbledon in July Related Articles The Sharks have a new longest-tenured member But how much longer will he be in San Jose Clayton Kershaw to retire will make final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium on Friday College football picks Texas Tech Nebraska Washington ASU cover spread Q A with former Raiders CEO Amy Trask Valkyries season ends in heartbreak but their rise is just beginning Alcaraz also won the French Open coming back from two sets down to triumph over Sinner in what numerous are calling one of the greatest matches ever played I think it was a tennis match that in countless avenues we ve never seen before just from the speed just the way tennis has been played Zverev says of this year s French Open Final Those two guys Carlos and Jannik right now they are ahead of everybody else And it s our job to catch up and be on that level and try to compete with them This year nobody could do it Hopefully in my perspective we will be able to do it more next year