After the Laver Cup 2024, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe concluded their respective roles as captains of Team Europe and Team World. In Berlin, after Team Europe narrowly defeated Team World, Borg paid an emotional homage to his opposing captain.
For the most of the 2024 Laver Cup, Team Europe lagged behind Team World. After the first day, the teams were level at 2-2, and by the second day, World was ahead 8–4. Day 3 saw Europe begin to close the gap early as Carlos Alcaraz and Casper won the doubles match and took three points against Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton. Shelton’s triumph in his singles match moved World closer to victory.
But with vital victories in the final two games by Alexander Zverev and Alcaraz, it was clearly Team Europe’s day. With these victories, Team Europe won their fifth Laver Cup, defeating Team World 13–11 in the standings. The triumph for Europe served as a worthy homage to departing captain Bjorn Borg.
Since the Laver Cup’s establishment in 2017, Borg and McEnroe, respectively, have led Teams Europe and World as captains. They declared their intention to leave their positions before the 2024 competition. Borg gave a moving homage to McEnroe during the trophy presentation ceremony, recalling their rivalry spanning the previous eight years.
“I’m gonna miss John a lot. Of course we’re gonna see each other… I remember when Roger called me and asked if I wanted to be captain for Team Europe. That was 8 years ago. I didn’t really know what to say. But I was happy to say yes. And he said John would be captain for Team World. John we’ve been having a good time. Even if you guys lost,” Borg said on court.
The 68-year-old also expressed gratitude to the Team Europe players for providing him with the ideal send-off and pulling off an almost unbelievable comeback at the Laver Cup 2024.
“First of all I’m very proud of my team. What we did today. If you look at this morning, I though we were not going to have a really good chance but we came through. Thank you guys, we had a good week and thank you very much for what you did,” he said.
